The first of Saturday’s Carling Currie Cup’s three matches is the Western Cape derby between DHL Western Province and the Sanlam Boland Cavaliers, which gets underway at 14:45 (SA Time) in Cape Town.
The Western Cape derby between WP and Boland at the DHL Stadium is a crucial affair for the visiting Kavaliers, who are desperate to consolidate their second place on the log and secure a home semi-final.
With 23 points in the bag, victory in Cape Town would guarantee the Wellington outfit a home semi-final. A loss could see them slide down the log, but a semi-final spot is still very likely due to their points buffer.
Hawies Fourie’s team will be keen to get back to winning ways after their narrow loss last weekend to the Sharks XV, a result which snapped their four-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Western Province is still looking for their first win of the season and will be desperate to end their campaign on a high note.
Deon Fourie will captain the DHL Western Province, starting at openside flank in a team featuring 13 changes to the starting XV, with fullback Luke Burger and tighthead prop Zachary Porthen the only two retaining their places.
Porthen is joined by hooker JJ Kotze and Vernon Matongo in the front row, with Ruben van Heerden and JD Schickerling linking up in the second row.
Fourie will have fellow Springbok Evan Roos alongside him in the loose trio, with Marcel Theunissen at blindside flank.
Stefan Ungerer and Jean-Luc du Plessis form the halfback pairing, with Jonathan Roche and Ruhan Nel in midfield.
Burger will have Seabelo Senatla and Leolin Zas at the back with him, while there will also be first appearances of the season from prop Vernon Matongo, lock Adre Smith, scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage and utility back Wandisile Simelane from the replacements bench.
The Sanlam Boland Cavaliers made a handful of changes to the match-day squad. Among the forwards, experienced lock Marlyn Williams, who captained the team earlier in the campaign before being sidelined by injury, returns to the starting XV in place of Jurie van Vuuren, who moves to the bench.
In the backline, scrumhalf Chriswill September returns to partner Juan Mostert, who remains at flyhalf with Ashlon Davids still sidelined. David Brits reclaims the number 13 jersey, with the versatile Erik Lambrecht shifting to the bench.
At fullback, regular goalkicker James Tedder has been ruled out after picking up an injury at training this week. Domenic Smit replaces him in the starting lineup, while Jayden Bantom, who joined the Kavaliers from the Eastern Province Elephants after the SA Cup, earns a spot on the bench and could make his Kavaliers debut.
Among the replacements, Llewellyn Classen takes over as hooker cover from HP van Schoor, while Lamla Nunu comes in at loosehead prop. Mthokozisi Gumede swaps the number 17 jersey for the number 18 to provide tighthead cover. With Khwezi Mafu unavailable due to a minor injury, the experienced Van Vuuren provides loose forward cover.
Teams:
DHL Western Province: 15 Luke Burger, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Deon Fourie (c), 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Vernon Matongo. Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Cabous Eloff, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Connor Evans, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Wandisile Simelane.
Sanlam Boland Cavaliers: 15 Domenic Smit, 14 Donavan Don, 13 David Brits, 12 Lunathi Nxele, 11 Xavier Mitchell, 10 Juan Mostert, 9 Chriswill September, 8 Thurlow Marsh (c), 7 Sibusiso Sangweni, 6 Sauliegh Arendse, 5 Marlyn Williams, 4 Michael Benadie, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 Sidney Tobias, 1 Wayrin Losper. Replacements: 16 Llewellyn Classen, 17 Lamla Nunu, 18 Mthokozisi Gumede, 19 Ameer Hendricks, 20 Jurie van Vuuren, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Erik Lambrecht, 23 Jayden Bantom.
