Sanlam Boland Kavaliers head coach Hawies Fourie has announced his side to face the Airlink Pumas in Mbombela, which includes five changes from the one that beat the Vodacom Bulls in the Carling Currie Cup Premier division in Wellington on Sunday.
Fullback James Tedder returns after missing out against the side from Pretoria because of a back injury. Donovan Don, the leading try scorer in the Carling Currie Cup with seven tries in four matches, misses out due to injury and is replaced by Marcqwien Titus on the right wing.
The rest of the backline has a now familiar look to it with the midfield pairing of Lunathi Nxele and David Brits and the halfback duo of the experienced Louis Schreuder and Ashlon Davids. Left wing Xavier Mitchell completes the backline.
Up front, Fourie has opted for a brand-new front row. Regular starters Wayrin Losper and Dayan van der Westhuizen are back in the number 1 and 3 jerseys, respectively, with Mthokozisi Gumede and Laurence Victor on the bench. HP van Schoor starts in the number two jersey with Llewellyn Claasen providing cover from the bench. Sidney Tobias has been rested.
Michael Benadie and Jurie van Vuuren reunite in the second row, whilst Khwezi Mafu is back in the starting line-up after a sterling performance off the bench against the Bulls. He swaps roles with Ludio Williams. Mafu teams up with Sibusiso Sangweni and captain Thurlow Marsh to form the rest of the loose trio.
A victory against the Airlink Pumas will all but secure the Kavas’ place in the semi-finals, so the Wellington-based side will have all to play for at the Lowveld. Fourie’s side has lost twice this year to Jimmy Stonehouse’s Pumas, with both encounters going down to the wire. The Airlink Pumas won 34-32 in the SA Cup league match early in May in Wellington before they defeated the Bolanders 31-29 two weeks later in Mbombela in the semi-final.
Sanlam Boland Cavaliers: 15 James Tedder, 14 Marcqwien Titus, 13 David Brits, 12 Lunathi Nxele, 11 Xavier Mitchell, 10 Ashlon Davids (vice-captain), 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Thurlow Marsh (c), 7 Sibusiso Sangweni, 6 Khwezi Mafu, 5 Jurie van Vuuren, 4 Michael Benadie, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 HP van Schoor, 1 Wayrin Losper. Replacements: 16 Llewellyn Classen, 17 Mthokozisi Gumede, 18 Laurence Victor 19 Ameer Hendricks, 20 Sauliegh Arendse, 21 Chriswill September, 22 Juan Mostert, 23 Erik Lambrecht.