Six players will make their debuts for the Willie Engelbrecht-captained DHL Western Province in the Currie Cup clash with the Vodacom Bulls in Cape Town on Sunday.
DHL Western Province begin their Currie Cup campaign with a North-South showdown, which kicks off at 3pm on Sunday at DHL Stadium.
Loose forward Willie Engelbrecht will captain a team that will see wing Courtnall Skosan, centre Wandisile Simelane, flank CJ Velleman, props Lizo Gqoboka and Vernon Matongo and lock Hendre Stassen all make their first appearance for DHL Western Province.
John Dobson said that while there are a few players pulling on the blue and white jersey for the first time, there is still a pleasing amount of experience among the matchday squad.
“Five of the six players making their debut are experienced players, with just Vernon Matongo having recently graduated from the junior ranks. We also have a player like Labib Kannemeyer back in the team after some excellent form for his club SK Walmers.
“We are really excited to see what these combinations can do and we are well-aware that we will need to hit the ground running against a strong and well-prepared Vodacom Bulls side.
“It is fantastic to start our season at DHL Stadium and the players cannot wait to get out there in front of our fans again.
“There are a number of players who are really hungry to perform, so this will be a great opportunity for them to show our supporters what they can do,” he said.
Western Province — 15 Luke Burger, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Willie Engelbrecht (c), 7 Connor Evans, 6 CJ Velleman, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Subs: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Corne Weilbach, 19 Hendre Stassen, 20 Paul de Villiers, 21 Louw Nel, 22 Labib Kannemeyer, 23 Damian Markus.
Photo: Christiaan Kotze/Gallo Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
