One change for WP

DHL Western Province head coach Allister Coetzee has named his team for Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup clash against the Sharks in Durban (19h10).

Coetzee has made just one injury-enforced change to the starting XV that picked up a valuable 29-22 away win over the Toyota Free State Cheetahs last weekend.

Tyrone Holmes returns to action in the No.7 jersey, after recovering from a shoulder injury, and he will replace Rynhardt Elstadt who has, in turn, been ruled out for three weeks with a rib injury.

On the bench, meanwhile, Tom Botha replaces new Springbok squad member Frans Malherbe as the additional front row replacement and fit-again Joe Pietersen returns to the matchday 22 at the expense of youngster Pat Howard, who will return to the WP Under-21 ranks this week.

Tighthead prop Botha is a former WP Under-21 star and a member of the Vodacom Cup-winning DHL WP side from earlier this year. He will make his Absa Currie Cup debut should he take to the field. Pietersen (fullback/wing), of course, will return to action for the first time since Round One – also against the Sharks – a wrist injury having kept him out up till now.

“This is a good Sharks side – even without their many Springboks. Their pack then (when we lost to them in the first round) was probably weaker than the one now – they’ve got (Anton) Bresler back and (Keegan) Daniel too. Really, they’re a quality outfit across the board,” said Coetzee.

“Also, it’s an away game (in Durban), which is another challenge for us, plus we’ve not beaten the Sharks in the 2012 Absa Currie Cup.

“Every game is important and tough, but we want to start the second round of competition better and we want to continue improving our game,” added the WP boss.

The DHL Western Province team to take on the Sharks is as follows:

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. Tyrone Holmes

6. Deon Fourie (captain)

5. De Kock Steenkamp

4. Don Armand

3. Brok Harris

2. Scarra Ntubeni

1. Deon Carstens

RESERVES:

16. Steven Kitshoff

17. Tom Botha*

18. Wilhelm van der Sluys

19. Helmut Lehmann

20. Louis Schreuder

21. Kurt Coleman

22. Joe Pietersen

* On Absa Currie Cup debut for DHL Western Province.

Referee: Lourens van der Merwe

Tags: Currie Cup, WP Rugby