DHL Western Province will tackle the Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday afternoon at 15:00 in Cape Town at the DHL Stadium, in what could very well be another absorbing encounter in a Round 6 Currie Cup Premier Division match.
The hosts will be confident after securing a 47-28 win against NovaVit Griffons in the Mother City last week, as will the men from Bloemfontein, following their 52-15 victory against the Fidelity ADT Lions in Johannesburg.
DHL WP scored seven tries last week, while the Toyota Cheetahs went one better and racked up eight in Gauteng. Some might anticipate a high-scoring encounter this Saturday, but the team that delivers the better defensive performance may well emerge with the spoils.
It’s an important match for both teams, who will be aiming to strengthen their respective positions on the log. If the Toyota Cheetahs prevail in Cape Town on Saturday, and if the NovaVit Griffons upset the defending champions in Welkom on Sunday, then the men from Bloemfontein will finish the round at the top of the standings.
DHL Western Province has been bolstered by the inclusion of several players who travelled with the DHL Stormers last week.
Captain Juan de Jongh’s team will be looking to make it back-to-back home wins against Free State teams following their seven-try victory against NovaVit Griffons last week.
Centre Jean-Luc du Plessis, flank Junior Pokomela and lock Gary Porter all come into the starting line-up having travelled to Exeter with the DHL Stormers last week.
Scrumhalf Thomas Bursey, flank Jarrod Taylor and hooker Andre-Hugo Venter also come into the starting line-up, while centre Cornel Smit makes his return from injury from the replacements bench.
DHL Western Province Head Coach John Dobson said that the players coming in are all keen to make an impact at DHL Stadium.
“We have some good players coming into a team coming off a good win, so hopefully we can raise our standards even further this week.
“There should be a great atmosphere at DHL Stadium and we want to make the most of that and back up on our performance last week,” he said.
Toyota Cheetahs head coach Hawies Fourie announced the team with a couple of changes from last week’s match against the Lions.
Schalk Ferreira and Alulutho Tshakweni switch places, with Schalk in the starting line-up. Starting next to him is Aranos Coetzee, who has returned from injury. Rynier Bernardo will provide cover on the bench for Mzwanele Zito. Gideon van der Merwe and Sibabalo Qoma are the flanks, and Andisa Ntsila will wear the number 8 jersey.
“From our point of view, Jeandré had a good game against the Lions with 18 carries and 17 tackles. He was our man of the match. Andy (Andisa Ntsila) played well against Pumas after a long layoff. He made a lot of ball carries. He deserves an opportunity. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to give Jeandré a break and to give a quality player like Andisa the opportunity.”
“The season is still long, and wherever we can do it and if the players are sharp, we’ll keep rotating without disrupting the team.” Said Coach Hawies Fourie.
The centres are David Brits and Evardi Boshoff. Cohen Jasper and Tapiwa Mafura switch places, with Mafura on the reserve bench.
Teams
Western Province: 15 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 14 Duncan Saal, 13 Juan de Jongh (c), 12 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Jarrod Taylor, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Connor Evans, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Leon Lyons. Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Corne Weilbach, 19 Dylan de Leeuw, 20 Louw Nel, 21 Labib Kannemeyer, 22 Cornel Smit, 23 Luke Burger.
Cheetahs: 15 Cohen Jasper, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 David Brits, 11 Munier Hartzenberg, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Andisa Ntsila, 7 Sibabalo Qomo, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (c), 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Arnanos Coetzee, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Siyamthanda Masuku, 23 Tapiwa Mafura.