Returning Boks start for WP

Cape Town - Western Province captain Chris van Zyl will earn his 50th cap in the Currie Cup encounter against Griquas at Newlands on Saturday.

Van Zyl leads a side that has been bolstered by the return of a number of players from Springbok duty for the clash which kicks off at 17:15 on Saturday.

Fullback Dillyn Leyds, inside centre Damian de Allende and tighthead prop Wilco Louw all come into the starting line-up.

Leyds will link up at the back with wings Seabelo Senatla and Werner Kok, with Ruhan Nel providing cover on the bench.

De Allende forms a midfield partnership with Huw Jones, who shifts to outside centre with EW Viljoen ruled out through injury.

In the absence of Jano Vermaak who is being rested, Dewaldt Duvenage links up with Damian Willemse at halfback with Justin Phillips and Rob du Preez set to make an impact in the second half.

The only two changes to the forward pack come in the front row as Louw returns and hooker Chad Solomon makes his first start of the Currie Cup campaign.

There are two further additions to the bench, with hooker Dean Muir and loose forward Johan du Toit both getting an opportunity to make their Currie Cup debut for Western Province.

Western Province head coach John Dobson said that his team is looking forward to playing at Newlands again.

“We know that we have to raise our standards significantly and the players are excited to play at Newlands again,” Dobson said.

“It is great to have some players back from Springbok duty, but the focus is on delivering a convincing team performance.”

Teams:

Western Province

15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Werner Kok, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Chad Solomon, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.

Susbtitutes: 16 Dean Muir, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Johan du Toit, 19 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 20 Justin Phillips, 21 Robert du Preez, 22 Ruhan Nel

Griquas

15 Eric Zana, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Kyle Steyn, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Renier Botha, 8 Kevin Kaba, 7 Sias Koen (captain), 6 De Wet Kruger, 5 Sintu Manjezi, 4 Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 2 Wilmar Arnoldi, 1 Devon Martinus

Substitutes: 16 AJ le Roux, 17 Liam Hendricks, 18 Shaun McDonald, 19 Conway Pretorius, 20 Christiaan Meyer, 21 Christopher Bosch, 22 AJ Coertzen