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Stephen Nell
Cape Town - Western Province coach Allister Coetzee has picked a host of rookies for Saturday's Currie Cup match against Griquas at Newlands.
Altogether 8 players in WP's 22-man squad - Danie Poolman, Johann Sadie, Siya Kolisi, Wimpie van der Walt, Frans Malherbe, Rohan Kitshoff, Nic Groom and Demetri Catrakilis - have not previously played for them in the tournament.
Scrumhalf Louis Schreuder is also starting a Currie Cup match for WP for the first time, though he has previously featured as a substitute.
Province also have a caretaker captain - hooker Deon Fourie will perform the role in the absence of the injured Duane Vermeulen and Dewaldt Duvenage.
Coetzee hinted on Thursday that the Stormers' planning for next year's Super Rugby tournament effectively starts here.
"We have a dual approach - number one is to perform well in this year's Currie Cup and number two is to take the players' growth a step further in the career-path that we have planned for them," he said.
"I want to be sure that they have had the opportunity to become better players by the time next year's Super Rugby tournament comes along.
"Our success in Super Rugby came on the back of a strong performance in last year's Currie Cup - the one follows the other.
"We succeeded in keeping our senior players for next year, but there is a middle level where we need to build on our depth."
A match against Griquas is a potential banana peel and WP fans will be nervous about all the new combinations.
Van der Walt and Kolisi are starting as flanks after still representing the WP under-21 and under-19 teams respectively last year.
Rynhardt Elstadt is injured, which means that forgotten Springbok Hilton Lobberts has been picked as the No 4 lock.
"Hilton is a physical lock and in the same mould as Rynhardt. He's a strong ball-carrier, defends well and was very good in the Vodacom Cup," said Coetzee.
Teams:
Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes 14 Danie Poolman 13 Johann Sadie 12 Tim Whitehead 11 JJ Engelbrecht 10 Gary van Aswegen 9 Louis Schreuder 8 Nick Koster 7 Siya Kolisi 6 Wimpie van der Walt 5 De Kock Steenkamp 4 Hilton Lobberts 3 Brok Harris 2 Deon Fourie (Captain) 1 Wicus Blaauw
Substitutes: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg 17 Frans Malherbe 18 Adriaan Fondse 19 Rohan Kitshoff 20 Nick Groom 21 Demetri Catrikilis 22 Marcel Brache
Griquas:
TBA
Cape Town - Western Province coach Allister Coetzee has picked a host of rookies for Saturday's Currie Cup match against Griquas at Newlands.
Altogether 8 players in WP's 22-man squad - Danie Poolman, Johann Sadie, Siya Kolisi, Wimpie van der Walt, Frans Malherbe, Rohan Kitshoff, Nic Groom and Demetri Catrakilis - have not previously played for them in the tournament.
Scrumhalf Louis Schreuder is also starting a Currie Cup match for WP for the first time, though he has previously featured as a substitute.
Province also have a caretaker captain - hooker Deon Fourie will perform the role in the absence of the injured Duane Vermeulen and Dewaldt Duvenage.
Coetzee hinted on Thursday that the Stormers' planning for next year's Super Rugby tournament effectively starts here.
"We have a dual approach - number one is to perform well in this year's Currie Cup and number two is to take the players' growth a step further in the career-path that we have planned for them," he said.
"I want to be sure that they have had the opportunity to become better players by the time next year's Super Rugby tournament comes along.
"Our success in Super Rugby came on the back of a strong performance in last year's Currie Cup - the one follows the other.
"We succeeded in keeping our senior players for next year, but there is a middle level where we need to build on our depth."
A match against Griquas is a potential banana peel and WP fans will be nervous about all the new combinations.
Van der Walt and Kolisi are starting as flanks after still representing the WP under-21 and under-19 teams respectively last year.
Rynhardt Elstadt is injured, which means that forgotten Springbok Hilton Lobberts has been picked as the No 4 lock.
"Hilton is a physical lock and in the same mould as Rynhardt. He's a strong ball-carrier, defends well and was very good in the Vodacom Cup," said Coetzee.
Teams:
Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes 14 Danie Poolman 13 Johann Sadie 12 Tim Whitehead 11 JJ Engelbrecht 10 Gary van Aswegen 9 Louis Schreuder 8 Nick Koster 7 Siya Kolisi 6 Wimpie van der Walt 5 De Kock Steenkamp 4 Hilton Lobberts 3 Brok Harris 2 Deon Fourie (Captain) 1 Wicus Blaauw
Substitutes: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg 17 Frans Malherbe 18 Adriaan Fondse 19 Rohan Kitshoff 20 Nick Groom 21 Demetri Catrikilis 22 Marcel Brache
Griquas:
TBA
