Cape Town - There are eight changes to the Western Province starting line-up for their top-of-the-table Currie Cup clash against the Sharks at Newlands on Saturday.
Five changes are in the forward pack and three are in the backline as Western Province look to make it five consecutive Currie Cup victories in a match that kicks off at 14:00.
Captain Chris van Zyl, flank Kobus van Dyk and No 8 Juarno Augustus are the only forwards remaining who started in the 38-12 victory against Griquas last week.
Ali Vermaak, Scarra Ntubeni and Michael Kumbirai form a new front row, with Caylib Oosthuizen, Chad Solomon and Carlu Sadie on the bench.
JD Schickerling starts alongside Van Zyl at lock, while Augustus and Van Dyk are joined by Ernst van Rhyn in the loose trio, with Chris Massyn among the replacements.
Scrumhalf Jano Vermaak, wing SP Marais and fullback Dillyn Leyds are all back in the starting line-up, with Herschel Jantjies and JJ Engelbrecht set to provide impact in the second half.
Western Province coach John Dobson says his team is determined to make the most of the opportunity at Newlands on Saturday.
“This will be a tough game between two good teams who are yet to lose this season, so we are grateful to have home advantage at Newlands,” he said.
“We have prepared well for this game and will be going all-out in what will be our last home game before the knock-out stages.”
Teams:
Western Province
15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 SP Marais, 10 Josh Stander, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Kobus van Dyk, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Michael Kumbirai, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Ali Vermaak
Substitutes: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Chris Massyn, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 JJ Engelbrecht
Sharks
15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle (captain), 1 Juan Schoeman
Substitutes: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Ruben van Heerden, 19 Luke Stringer, 20 Cameron Wright, 21 Leolin Zas, 22 Aphelele Fassi