DHL Western Province has called on the experience of Scarra Ntubeni and Juan de Jongh for the Currie Cup encounter with Fidelity ADT Lions at Athlone Stadium on Friday.
Hooker Ntubeni (86 DHL WP caps) and centre De Jongh (81 DHL WP caps) both come into the starting line-up for the clash with the Johannesburg team, which kicks off at 17h05 on Friday.
There is one other change to the forward pack that did duty in the win against the defending champion Airlink Pumas last week, with flank Junior Pokomela returning from injury to take his place on the side of the scrum.
De Jongh forms a midfield partnership with Cornel Smit, while Luke Brger shifts to fullback and Mnombo Zwelendaba comes in on the wing.
DHL Western Province Head Coach John Dobson said that it will require another big effort to get the win in Athlone on Friday.
“We were really pleased with the character the team showed last week to fight back and get the win, but there are a few technical areas that can definitely improve.
“It has been a challenging week for this group with all of the focus and hype around the Vodacom URC Grand Final and they have sacrificed a lot to help the DHL Stormers’ cause. It shows their dedication that they were happy to do so, while also putting in extra work to ensure that they are well prepared for this game.
“Athlone Stadium was a great venue last week and we are all looking forward to getting out there in front of the local community once again,” he said.
DHL Western Province: 15 Luke Burger, 14 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Tom Nel, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis (captain), 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Louw Nel, 7 Jarrod Taylor, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Kwenzo Blose. Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Corne Weilbach, 19 George van der Westhuizen, 20 Chad Solomon, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Lloyd Koster.