Stephen Nell

Cape Town – “Intense, close, physical”.

Western Province captain Anton van Zyl could hardly produce a more apt description of the challenge awaiting his side in Saturday’s Currie Cup match against the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

Van Zyl and Co won a titanic battle in the trenches against the Bulls 15-12 at Newlands in the first round, but the challenge in Pretoria will no doubt be tougher.

“If you want to win the Currie Cup, you have to be able to beat any team on any day,” said Van Zyl.

“This is Currie Cup rugby at its absolute best. It’s strength versus strength. I expect the same intensity as in our previous match, if not a little more.”

There may well be a lot on the line for Van Zyl on a personal level in the coming weeks.

With Victor Matfield set to rest and Andries Bekker injured, the Springbok selectors will have to seriously think about who will wear South Africa’s No 5 jersey when they play Ireland in the first match of their Grand Slam tour on November 6.

Van Zyl, Sharks lock Alistair Hargreaves and Lions captain Franco van der Merwe should be the leading candidates.

“Any player that tells you it’s not his goal to represent his country is definitely lying,” said Van Zyl.

“It’s the greatest honour that you can have as a rugby player and also the greatest challenge.

“You want to measure yourself against the best because that is how you improve. For me it would be a huge privilege and honour to be picked for the Springboks.

“But to achieve that goal I first have to achieve success with WP. My focus is therefore completely on making a positive contribution at WP.”

Nobody will deny that Van Zyl has done that for the Cape union.

As player he is an unsung hero and WP’s second place on the log probably points to good leadership in the side.

Saturday’s match may be the last time that Van Zyl leads WP this year because Schalk Burger will again be available.

“I have not even thought of that. This team and union are not about individuals. I was captain this year, but received tremendous support from senior players,” said Van Zyl.

“I don’t think much will change with Schalla returning next week. He will just run out in front and make the big decisions, with us senior players supporting him in the background.”

Adriaan Fondse returns this week in place of De Kock Steenkamp to partner Van Zyl at lock.

They will be measured against Springbok lock Flip van der Merwe and rising star Fudge Mabeta.

“All of the Bulls’ locks are good players to measure yourself against. Flip and Fudge are outstanding locks and so too are Wilhelm Steenkamp and Juandré Kruger. I don’t see any weakness,” said Van Zyl.

The other change to the WP starting line-up is at loosehead prop, with JD Moller replacing the injured Wicus Blaauw.

Teams:

Western Province:
15. Conrad Jantjes, 14. JJ Engelbrecht, 13. Juan De Jongh, 12. Jean De Villiers, 11. Gio Aplon, 10. Willem de Waal, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Francois Louw, 6. Pieter Louw, 5. Anton van Zyl (captain), 4. Adriaan Fondse, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Deon Fourie, 1. JD Moller

Replacements: 16. Hanyani Shimange, 17. JC Kritzinger, 18. De Kock Steenkamp, 19. Nick Koster, 20. Conrad Hoffmann, 21. Lionel Cronje, 22. Paul Bosch

Blue Bulls:
15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Jaco Pretorius, 12. Stefan Watermeyer, 11. Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 10. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9. Francois Hougaard, 8. Gerrit-Jan van Velze, 7. Okkie Kruger, 6. Derick Kuün (captain), 5. Fudge Mabeta, 4. Flip van der Merwe, 3. Werner Kruger, 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1. Gurthrö Steenkamp

Replacements: 16. Gary Botha, 17. Rossouw de Klerk, 18. Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19. Dewald Potgieter, 20. Ruan Snyman, 21. Francois Brummer, 22. Stephan Dippenaar