Carr returns for WP

Cape Town - Nizaam Carr will make his first appearance for Western Province this season when they host the Pumas in a Currie Cup clash at Newlands on Saturday.

The experienced loose forward has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, but has recovered and will start at openside flank, in one of five changes to the WP team.

Carr is joined in the loose trio by Stefan Willemse and No 8 Kobus van Dyk, with Jurie van Vuuren set to provide an impact off the bench.

In the front row, Alistair Vermaak starts at loosehead prop, with Sti Sithole providing cover on the bench.

There are two changes to the backline, with centre Huw Jones returning from injury to replace Johnny Kotze, whilst at scrumhalf Godlen Masimla comes in for Jano Vermaak, who has a hip-pointer injury.

WP coach John Dobson said that he expects a major reaction from his team after a disappointing performance in Johannesburg last week.

“We know that we were not up to standard defensively last week, and there is a strong desire to put things right this weekend,” he told the WP Rugby website.

“We are back at Newlands in front of our faithful fans, and we owe them a convincing performance.”

Dobson said that having someone of Carr’s experience back in the team is a significant boost.

“Nizaam is an important player and leader within this union, and I am looking forward to seeing what he offers against the Pumas,” he said.

Saturday’s clash is scheduled for 17:10.

Teams:

Western Province

15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Werner Kok, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Huw Jones, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Kobus van Dyk, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Chris van Zyl (captain), 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 Alistair Vermaak.

Substitutes: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 JP Smith, 19 Jurie van Vuuren, 20 Jacques Vermeulen, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Scott van Breda

Pumas

15 Devon Williams, 14 Ruwellyn Isbell, 13 Hoffman Maritz, 12 Hennie Skorbinski, 11 JP Lewis, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Emile Temperman, 8 Renaldo Bothma (captain), 7 Lambert Groenewald, 6 Brian Shabangu, 5 Jannie Stander, 4 Stephan Greef, 3 Louis Albertse, 2 Frank Herne, 1 Khwezi Mona

Substitutes: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 De Jay Terblanche, 18 Hugo Kloppers, 19 Carel Greeff, 20 Kevin Luiters, 21 Heinrich Steyl, 22 Tyler Fisher