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Coleman ready for Griquas test

Cape Town - Kurt Coleman has been called-up to replace flyhalf Gary van Aswegen in the Western Province Currie Cup team to play Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday.

Van Aswegen has been sidelined by a knee injury which has not fully recovered and WP coach Allister Coetzee felt Coleman was well equipped to play a vital role in Kimberley.

"Kurt plays the type of game we would need in Kimberley," said Coetzee.

"He has good core skills and can hold his own defence.

"He kicks well out-of-hand and his goal-kicking has improved a lot.

"He has been out of the loop because of injuries which is why he hasn’t started for us at Currie Cup level but he has been in our system for a long time now.

"He has started for the Stormers when we played overseas, so he does have big-game experience."

Coetzee said Van Aswegen could make a return next week.

"In a game against Griquas, the physical element is right up there and Gary is not 100 percent," said Coetzee.

"I have a policy which is that if players are not 100%, they should not play."

The former SA Schools and WP under-21 flyhalf Tim Swiel was named on the bench to provide cover and at fullback as well.

"Like Kurt, Tim has a good pass on him," said Coetzee.

"He is an exciting runner with the ball and is very intelligent rugby-wise.

"Kurt will carry the goal-kicking duties on Saturday, and Tim will be the back-up."

In the pack, Springbok prop Pat Cilliers replaces Brok Harris, who has been demoted to the bench.

"Brok has been playing good rugby but we need to rotate to keep the props fresh," said Coetzee.

"In the past there have been times when we overplayed Brok and we don't want that to happen again, while we have the luxury of rotating props."

It will be Cilliers' first Currie Cup run-on cap for WP since his move from the Golden Lions.

In the only other change, Springbok Juan de Jongh was named in place of centre Pat Howard, who has been moved out of the match-day 22.

"Pat has had hamstring tightness for the past two weeks and it's better that he has a complete break, rather than sit on the bench, as he recovers," said Coetzee.

"It gives Pat a good chance to get rid of the hamstring niggle.

"Juan is really keen to play and as a Springbok he brings a great deal to our game, and the way we want to play."

Teams:

Griquas:

15 PJ Vermeulen, 14 Nico Scheepers, 13 JP Nel, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Leon Karemaker, 7 Hilton Lobberts, 6 Carel Greeff, 5. Jonathan Adendorf, 4 Jaco Nepgen, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Ryno Barnes (captain), 1 Steph Roberts.

Substitutes: 16. Matthew Dobson, 17. Brummer Badenhorst, 18. RJ Liebenberg , 19. Burger Schoeman, 20. Jacques Coetzee, 21. Du Randt Gerber, 22. Richard Lawson

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. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16. Tiaan Liebenberg, 17. Brok Harris, 18. Gerbrandt Grobler, 19. Rohan Kitshoff, 20. Nic Groom, 21. Tim Swiel, 22. Ryan Nell
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