Steenkamp handed WP start

Highly-rated Stellenbosch lock De Kock Steenkamp, a member of the 2008 Varsity Cup-winning squad, has been named in the Western Province starting line-up for Friday's Currie Cup clash against the Leopards in Potchefstroom.

Steenkamp will replace All Blacks lock Chris Jack in the No.4 shirt - with the Kiwi having returned home to New Zealand - in the only change to the WP run-on team that went down narrowly to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last Saturday.

The WP bench, once again, has a heavy Stellenbosch flavour to it with Varsity Cup stars Paul Bosch and JJ Engelbrecht adding some backline cover in jerseys 21 and 22, respectively.

The Western Province team: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Frikkie Welsh, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Gio Aplon, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Anton van Zyl, 4 De Kock Steenkamp, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 JD Moller, 18 Hilton Lobberts, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Conrad Hoffmann, 21 Paul Bosch, 22 JJ Engelbrecht.

Kick-off: 7.10pm - Profet Olën Park, Potchefstroom

Meanwhile, Maties loose forward Morné Hanekom will once again captain the Western Province Under-21 team this weekend.

The Province 'Babes' will also be playing against the Leopards on Friday - like their senior counterparts - and the team is jam-packed with Varsity Cup stars.

Johann Sadie (Maties), Coenie van Wyk (Maties), Martin Muller (UCT), Lourens Adriaanse (Maties) and Dayne Jans (UCT) are all in the matchday 22, whilst the Ikeys trio of Tiger Bax, Dane Johnson and Tim Whitehead all miss out through injury.

The WP U21s are currently in third position on the log, only two points behind leaders, the Blue Bulls, following their impressive victory in Bloemfontein last Saturday. Their opponents, the Leopards, are in seventh place with nine points.

The WP Under-21 team: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Steven Hunt, 13 Stokkies Hanekom, 12 Johann Sadie, 11 Chris Juries, 10 Coenie van Wyk, 9 Liam Slatem, 8 Morné Hanekom (captain), 7 Yaya Hartzenberg, 6 Wimpie van der Walt, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Hugo Kloppers, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Sidney Tobias, 1 Hein van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Dayne Jans, 17 Jean Rossouw, 18 Mz Zito, 19 Tertius Daniller, 20 Johan Laker, 21 Nathaniel Pekeur, 22 Daniel Poolman.

Kick-off: 5pm - Profet Olën Park, Potchefstroom