Share

Vermeulen back for WP

Cape Town - DHL Western Province head coach Allister Coetzee has made six changes ahead of Saturday's Absa Currie Cup meeting with GWK Griquas in Kimberley.

Most of the changes have been brought about by injuries - and one is positional - but the return of No 8 Duane Vermeulen is the big news from Cape Town this week.

Vermeulen has been missing since April because of a knee injury and his return sees Jebb Sinclair drop to the bench - in one of the six changes from the side that started in the 23-25 defeat to the Sharks last Saturday.

Nine players made their Absa Currie Cup debuts for DHL WP last week, with just four new players named this week - left-wing Ederies Arendse and flyhalf Kurt Coleman and the two unused replacements from last week, lock Wilhelm van der Sluys and centre/wing Damian de Allende.

There is also a new halfback pairing in the shape of Demetri Catrakilis (flyhalf) and Louis Schreuder (scrumhalf), with the former replacing the injured Burton Francis and the latter rotating with Dewaldt Duvenage.

Duvenage, in fact, gets a total break this week - after a tough playing schedule in 2012 - with Vodacom Cup winner Nic Groom providing scrumhalf cover from the bench.

In a final change to the starting XV, loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff has recovered fully from the knee injury which kept him out of last week's Sharks match.

"Griquas are at least 20 percent better in Kimberley - it will be a tough game," warned DHL WP coach Allister Coetzee.

"In the past we've had to work very hard for points up there and I don't expect it to be much different this week. It's going to be a tough game... we're under no illusions."


Teams:


Griquas:

TBA

Western Province: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Marcel Brache (vice-captain), 11 Ederies Arendse*, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Tyrone Holmes, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Don Armand, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Wilhelm van der Sluys*, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 Nic Groom, 21 Kurt Coleman*, 22 Damian de Allende*


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
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1818 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1779 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1084 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 461 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 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