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Cape Town - Western Province are wary of the threat that veteran Sharks lock Marco Wentzel could pose in their Currie Cup clash at Newlands on Saturday.
Wentzel, 34, recently joined the Sharks for the Currie Cup season after returning to South Africa from English club London Wasps.
He played two Tests for South Africa back in 2002 and played 51 times over two seasons for Wasps and also had spells with Leicester and Leeds.
His lineout play was impressive in the Sharks' 34-18 victory over the Blue Bulls last weekend, and WP forwards coach Matthew Proudfoot admitted the former Bok can be a tough customer.
"The lineout has become such an important aspect of play that you need a specialist to control it. He (Wentzel) does a really good job for the Sharks in that regard. He competes really well on your own throw-in," Proudfoot told Die Burger's website.
"Franco van der Merwe had the same impact for the Sharks during Super Rugby and it gave them a new dimension. It will be a tough challenge for us in the lineouts. We focused a lot on our lineouts earlier in the week."
Proudfoot also admitted that he wasn't happy with how their lineout functioned against the Golden Lions last week, when they surrendered a 25-10 lead to eventually draw 31-all.
"With our jumpers airborne, we made the wrong calls. We've worked hard to improve the process and our decision making."
Kick-off at Newlands is at 19:10 on Saturday.
Teams:
Western Province
15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Louis Schreuder 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Gerbrandt Grobler, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Nic Groom, 21 Gary van Aswegen, 22 Michael van der Spuy
Sharks
15. SP Marais, 14. Sizo Maseko, 13. Louis Ludik, 12. Tim Whitehead, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Butch James, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Jacques Botes (captain), 7. Jean Deysel, 6. Keegan Daniel, 5. Marco Wentzel, 4. Peet Marais, 3. Rayno Gerber, 2. Craig Burden, 1. Danie Mienie
Substitutes: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Edwin Hewitt, 19. Justin Downey, 20. Charl McLeod, 21. Fred Zeilinga, 22. Jaco van Tonder
Wentzel, 34, recently joined the Sharks for the Currie Cup season after returning to South Africa from English club London Wasps.
He played two Tests for South Africa back in 2002 and played 51 times over two seasons for Wasps and also had spells with Leicester and Leeds.
His lineout play was impressive in the Sharks' 34-18 victory over the Blue Bulls last weekend, and WP forwards coach Matthew Proudfoot admitted the former Bok can be a tough customer.
"The lineout has become such an important aspect of play that you need a specialist to control it. He (Wentzel) does a really good job for the Sharks in that regard. He competes really well on your own throw-in," Proudfoot told Die Burger's website.
"Franco van der Merwe had the same impact for the Sharks during Super Rugby and it gave them a new dimension. It will be a tough challenge for us in the lineouts. We focused a lot on our lineouts earlier in the week."
Proudfoot also admitted that he wasn't happy with how their lineout functioned against the Golden Lions last week, when they surrendered a 25-10 lead to eventually draw 31-all.
"With our jumpers airborne, we made the wrong calls. We've worked hard to improve the process and our decision making."
Kick-off at Newlands is at 19:10 on Saturday.
Teams:
Western Province
15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Louis Schreuder 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Gerbrandt Grobler, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Nic Groom, 21 Gary van Aswegen, 22 Michael van der Spuy
Sharks
15. SP Marais, 14. Sizo Maseko, 13. Louis Ludik, 12. Tim Whitehead, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Butch James, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Jacques Botes (captain), 7. Jean Deysel, 6. Keegan Daniel, 5. Marco Wentzel, 4. Peet Marais, 3. Rayno Gerber, 2. Craig Burden, 1. Danie Mienie
Substitutes: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Wiehahn Herbst, 18. Edwin Hewitt, 19. Justin Downey, 20. Charl McLeod, 21. Fred Zeilinga, 22. Jaco van Tonder
