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Willemse to make WP debut

Cape Town - Flyhalf Damian Willemse will make his Western Province debut in the Currie Cup encounter against the Pumas at Newlands on Saturday.

There have been several changes to the Western Province team, for the clash which kicks off at 13:00 on Saturday, with a number of players back in the selection mix.

Fullback SP Marais will have Seabelo Senatla and Dillyn Leyds on either side of him, while EW Viljoen and Dan Kriel will link up in midfield with Michal Hazner providing cover on the bench.

Justin Phillips will partner Willemse at halfback, with the experienced Jano Vermaak set to make an impact in the second half.

In the loose trio, Nizaam Carr replaces the injured Sikhumbuzo Notshe at No 8, with Steph de Wit and Kobus van Dyk starting on the flanks and Johan du Toit and Jaco Coetzee among the replacements.

With the lock pairing of JD Schickerling and captain Chris van Zyl retained, the only other changes come in the front row where Ali Vermaak is joined by hooker Bongi Mbonambi and Frans van Wyk, while JC Janse van Rensburg and Currie Cup debutant Michael Kumbirai will be alongside Scarra Ntubeni on the replacements bench.

Western Province head coach John Dobson said that his team is looking forward to making the most of home advantage in their first game at Newlands this season.

“We welcome a number of talented players into the fold this week and everyone is excited by the prospect of playing at Newlands,” he said.

“There has been a lot of hard work put in on the training pitch this week, so hopefully that reflects in our performance.”

Teams:

Western Province

15 SP Marais, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Damian Willemse (Western Province debut), 9 Justin Phillips, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Steph de Wit, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Frans van Wyk, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ali Vermaak

Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Michael Kumbirai, 19 Johan du Toit, 20 Jaco Coetzee, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Michal Hazner

Pumas

15 Devon Williams, 14 Jean-Paul Lewis, 13 Gerrit Smith, 12 Sias Ebersohn, 11 Ruwellyn Isbell, 10 Kobus Marais, 9 Reynier van Rooyen, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Brian Shabangu (captain), 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Jacques Kotze, 2 Mark Pretorius, 1 De-Jay Terblanche.

Substitutes: 16 Frank Herne, 17 Louis Albertse, 18 Jannie Stander, 19 Chris Cloete, 20 Theo Maree, 21 Justin van Staden, 22 Jerome Pretorius

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