Rugby news from Western Province:
Blommetjies on debut for DHL WP:
Fullback Clayton Blommetjies will make his debut for DHL Western Province against Fidelity ADT Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The DHL Western Province team will be captained by lock Ernst van Rhyn in the Currie Cup opener, which kicks off at 15h35 on Saturday at Emirates Airline Park.
Blommetjies is joined in the back three by wings Angelo Davids and Duncan Saal, with the experienced Juan de Jongh linking up with Jean-Luc du Plessis in midfield.
Kade Wolhuter will have Godlen Masimla as his halfback partner to round out a dangerous backline.
Up front hooker Scarra Ntubeni will have props Kwenzo Blose and Lee-Marvin Mazibuko start on either side of him, while Van Rhyn is joined by Connor Evans in the second row.
The loose trio will see flanks Marcel Theunissen and Ben-Jason Dixon line up alongside powerful No.8 Keke Morabe.
There are also potential DHL Western Province senior debuts for lock Dylan de Leeuw, flank Louwan Horn, centre Bruce Sherwood and utility back Suleiman Hartzenberg from the replacements bench.
DHL Western Province Head Coach John Dobson said that the focus this week has been on making the most of the considerable talent in the matchday squad.
“It has been a good training week, with great energy for the start of the Currie Cup.
“We have some incredibly talented players going up to Joburg, so the challenge for us will be to ensure that we make the most of that and get the competition off to a positive start,” he said.
DHL Western Province: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11 Duncan Saal, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Kwenzo Blose.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Dylan de Leeuw, 20 Louwan Horn, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Bruce Sherwood, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg.
DHL WP U20 change-up for Bloemfontein trip:
There are a number of changes to the DHL Western Province U20 team for their SA Rugby U20 Cup match against Toyota Cheetahs U20 in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The clash with the Free State side kicks off at 12h00 on Saturday at Toyota Stadium.
Up front loosehead prop Matthew Beckett comes in, while there is also an all-new lock pairing of Patric Kitete and Hennie Sieberhagen. Corbin Benjamin moves to blindside flank, with Eely Peters starting at No.8.
In the backline the versatile FC Fourie is at flyhalf, with Thomas Nel linking up with Damian Marcus in midfield.
DHL Western Province U20 Head Coach Norman Jordaan said that his team is determined to make th most of the trip to Bloemfontein.
“It has been a good training week and we would like to put together an 80-minute performance on Saturday.
“It will be tough in Bloemfontein, but we have confidence that this group can pull together and get the result we are looking for,” he said.
DHL Western Province U20: 15 Ulrich Wahl, 14 Jared Africa, 13 Thomas Nel, 12 Damian Marcus, 11 Thaaqib Ryland, 10 FC Fourie, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Eely Peters, 7 Corbin Benjamin, 6 Paul de Villiers (captain), 5 Hennie Sieberhagen, 4 Patric Kitete, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Luca Bakkes, 1 Matthew Beckett.
Replacements: 16 Tian Vorster, 17 Wilbur Loubser, 18 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 19 Andre Goedhals, 20 Jamie Ricketts, 21 Dante Burger, 22 Christoff de Bruyn, 23 J’que Huckins.
