WP bolstered for Griquas clash

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Western Province have been bolstered by the inclusion of a few key players for their Currie Cup clash with Griquas in Kimberley on Friday.

There are five players in the forward pack that did not feature in Western Province’s last match in Durban a fortnight ago.

Prop Neethling Fouche, hooker Andre-Hugo Venter, lock Ben-Jason Dixon and loose forwards Marcel Theunissen and Nama Xaba all come into the starting line-up for the match at Griqua Park on Friday.

Fouche makes his return from injury, while Venter, Dixon, Theunissen and captain Xaba will all get some valuable gametime having featured among the replacements for the Stormers in recent weeks.

Loose forward Junior Pokomela will also make his Western Province debut from the replacements bench, having recently recovered from injury.

The only change to the backline sees Kade Wolhuter make his first start of the season at fullback, with Sergeal Petersen shifting to the right wing.

Western Province head coach Jerome Paarwater said that the players coming in are all keen to make the most of this opportunity in what will be a challenging match away from home.

"Playing the Griquas in Kimberley is never easy, so we will have to be as accurate as possible for the full 80 minutes up there.

"We have had two weeks to work on a few aspects of our game and have worked closely with the Stormers squad, which has been good for us.

"The guys coming in are all hungry to show what they have to offer and we are looking forward to seeing how some of the new combinations go," he said.

Western Province: 15 Kade Wolhuter, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Timothy Swiel, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Nama Xaba (captain), 5 David Meihuizen, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Ali Vermaak.

Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Sacha Mngomezulu, 23 Ethan James.

Date: Friday, February 18

Venue: Griqua Park, Kimberley

Kick-off: 19.00 (17.00 GMT)

Referee: Jaco Peyper

Assistant referees: Griffin Colby, Local

TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen