Holmes steps in for WP

Flank Tyrone Holmes replaces the injured Rynhardt Elstadt in the only change to the Western Province side for their clash with the Sharks on Saturday.

Holmes returns in the No.7 jersey, after recovering from a shoulder injury, as coach Allister Coetzee keeps faith in the starting combinations that did duty in the victory over the Cheetahs last week.

Coietzee said that although Holmes has more experience at openside flank, he is confident that he will be able to produce the goods against a quality Sharks loose trio.

"Tyrone had been doing really well for us up until the injury, his wrkrate is phenomenal and he gets involved. He has grown as an openside flank and also playing No.7 at times so hopefully he can repeat his previous performances.

"He will be up against Springboks in Jean Deysel and Keegan Daniel, so that is motivation enough," he said.

On the bench, meanwhile, Tom Botha replaces 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.

Botha is a former WP Under-21 star and a member of the Vodacom Cup-winning side from earlier this year. He will make his Currie Cup debut should he take to the field.

Coetzee said that he has plenty of confidence that Botha will be able to make the step up.

"The players that we contract and keep here are not just here for emergency situations. We have a plan with each and every player, Tom Botha is a good scrummager and if we need fresh legs I am not scared to call on Tom, he has been part of a successful Vodacom Cup campaign and scrummed against the Griquas side that is currently performing so well in the Currie Cup.

"Our reserves off the bench have made an excellent impact up until now and that is what I expect Tom to do as well," he said.

Pietersen, of course, will return to action for the first time since Round One - also against the Sharks - a wrist injury having kept him out.

"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 Bresler back and 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 Currie Cup this year.

"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," he added.

Western Province: 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.

Replacements: 16 Steven Kitshoff, 17 Tom Botha, 18 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 19 Helmut Lehmann, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Joe Pietersen.

Date: Saturday, September 15

Venue: Kings Park, Durban

Kick-off: 19.00; 18.00 GMT

Referee: Lourens van der Merwe

Assistant referees: Jaco van Heerden, Reuben Rossouw

TMO: Shaun Veldsman