Share

Same approach for WP

Cape Town - Western Province will be hoping to maintain their winning ways when they take on the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Scrumhalf Nic Groom was named in the starting team, replacing Dewaldt Duvenage who broke his leg in the 42-6 win over the Blue Bulls.

Captain Deon Fourie remains at flank after a solid efforrt there at Newlands last week.

Fourie said he was confident his side would be fully prepared for a tough Cheetahs challenge and said WP would have to forget about their convincing win over the Bulls.

"We had a lot that went in our favour and the ball bounced well for us," Fourie said on Wednesday.

"But that does not go without saying that we were prepared and up for whatever was thrown our way, and we'll take the same approach with us to Bloemfontein."

Meanwhile, wing Damian de Allende will get his first start in a Currie Cup match for WP. At the front of the scrum, Brok Harris will get a start at loosehead prop, with Frans Malherbe named on the bench.

The dynamic trio were the only changes to coach Alistair Coetzee's starting line-up for their clash in Bloemfontein, bolstering an inexperienced line-up that humiliated the Bulls.

Province will face an uphill challenge against a Cheetahs outfit sneaking up on the log leaders, having won two and lost two matches.

WP lead the Cheetahs by a single point on the log.

Coetzee believes WP's demanding victory over the Bulls will build confidence and ensure the side will remain in the hunt for a semi-final spot.

"Some of our under-21's have been tested at the highest level, and they have really put in a fantastic effort with the superior results," Coetzee said.

"Building our team has a dual purpose in developing players and consistently winning.

"It is a matter of keeping continuity and we want to be consistent.

"We are very fortunate to have a reserve bench who can cover more than one position, so we have selected players specific to the plan we've implemented and spoken about for a while now."

Teams:

Free State Cheetahs:

15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Nico Scheepers, 13 Robert Ebersohn (captain), 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Lappies Labuschagne, 5 Heinrich Brüssow, 4 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Hercu Liebenberg, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.

Substitutes: 16 Elandré Huggett, 17 Ross Geldenhuys, 18 Waltie Vermeulen, 19 Hendro Scoltz, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Philip Snyman, 22 Rayno Benjamin.

Western Province:

15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Marcel Brache, 11 Damian de Allende, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Don Armand, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Deon Carstens

Substitutes: 16 Steven Kitshoff, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 19 Helmut Lehmann, 20 Louis Schreuder 21 Patrick Howard, 22 Kurt Coleman

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
67% - 759 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
33% - 382 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE