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Port Elizabeth - Injuries to senior players Tim Whitehead and Steven Sykes will see centre Ronnie Cooke take over the captaincy when the EP Kings play their final 2015 Currie Cup clash against Western Province in Cape Town on Friday (18:00 kick-off).
Cooke also replaces Whitehead at centre, although he will operate from the outside position, with JP du Plessis moving to inside centre.
There are injury concerns over Stefan Willemse, who replaces Sykes at lock, and wing Luther Obi, but Kings coach Brent Janse van Rensburg said they were fairly confident the pair would be ready for the Friday encounter.
"Both Stefan and Luther have the sort of minor niggles which we feel can clear up in the next 48 hours and that's why we have included them in the squad to help maintain some consistency with selection," Janse van Rensburg said.
"But we have put Tazz Fuzani (for Willemse) and Siviwe Soyizwapi (for Obi) on standby, and they will be travelling with us in case the players selected are not cleared by the medical staff at a late stage."
Acknowledging he was disappointed with the second half performance against the Blue Bulls after they led 20-17 at the break, Janse van Rensburg called for a consistent performance throughout the match against WP. The Kings lost 49-27 to the Bulls last weekend.
"We want to end on a high note, and I want the team to put in a good performance, to be competitive and to aim for a consistent display for the full 80 minutes,” Janse van Rensburg said.
"The players owe it to their fans and to themselves to end off strongly."
Teams:
Western Province
15. Dillyn Leyds, 14. Kobus van Wyk, 13. Huw Jones, 12. Juan de Jongh (captain), 11. Leolin Zass, 10. Robert du Preez, 9. Godlen Masimla, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6. Jurie Van Vuuren, 5. Chris Van Zyl, 4. Jean Kleyn, 3. Wilco Louw, 2. Michael Willemse, 1. Oliver Kebble
Substitutes: 16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Steven kitshoff, 18. Jan De Klerk, 19. Justin Benn, 20. Nic Groom, 21. Kurt Coleman, 22. Jaco Taute
Eastern Province Kings
15 Scott van Breda, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Ronnie Cooke (captain), 12 JP du Plessis, 11 Luther Obi/Siviwe Soyizwapi, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Jacques Engelbrecht, 6 Thembelani Bholi, 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Stefan Willemse/Tazz Fuzani, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Substitutes: 16 Martin Ferreira, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Basil Short, 19 David Bulbring, 20 Paul Schoeman, 21 Dwayne Kelly, 22 Karlo Aspeling
