of WP meritorious win over the hapless bulle.
Snapster will be very pleased with all the young talent being showcased and feel the Boks also should be playing more under 21 players against the abs.
Ex Supersport
DHL Western Province coach Allister Coetzee has continually stressed that the Absa Currie Cup has a higher end than just the coveted golden trophy, and the growth aspect of the competition has been showcased in some of his selections in recent weeks.
Last Saturday we saw Taz Fuzani, the 22-year-old University of Western Cape lock, make an impressive debut against the Vodacom Blue Bulls.
He was only on for half an hour but that was always the plan as he hasn’t played much rugby recently. In the time he spent on the field though he showed his potential with some massive hits and strong contributions in the tight-loose exchanges.
He gets another chance on Friday when WP host GWK Griquas at Newlands, and he is joined this time by more newcomers in the form of WP under-21 stars Rayn Smid and Josh Katzen.
They join fellow age-group players Gerbrandt Grobler and Mike Willemse on the bench. There are also two under-21 players in the starting team in the form of dynamic young wing Cheslin Kolbe and loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff.
The last mentioned is a bit of an anomaly in the sense that this is third year of Currie Cup rugby, and his potential as a front-row forward is underlined by the fact that he made his senior debut in his post-school year.
There are two changes to the WP starting side that beat the Bulls in Pretoria last week, one of them forced by the suspension to flanker Michael Rhodes, who is out for one week after being found guilty of negligent use of the boot in the incident involving Bulls captain Jono Ross that saw him getting sent from the field, and the other by rotational considerations.
Rohan Kitshoff comes into the side at openside flank for Rynhardt Elstadt, who moves to the blindside flank, where Rhodes played last week.
The rotation change comes at scrumhalf, with Nic Groom starting ahead of Louis Schreuder. A significant change on the bench is the inclusion of Demetri Catrakilis in place of the injured Gary van Aswegen.
This will be the first time that Catrakilis fits into a blue and white hooped jersey since last year’s Currie Cup final, where he was one of the WP match-winners against the Sharks. He played his Super Rugby for the Southern Kings earlier this year.
Although WP were forced to dig deep last week at Loftus due to them being reduced to 14 men for much of the match, and thus saw the win as a massive achievement, Coetzee is determined to keep his players firmly rooted to the ground.
Griquas are last on the log with four matches to play in the league phase, but that means nothing to the WP coach.
“We saw how they fought against the Sharks last week and they gave us a big game in Kimberley in the first round,” said Coetzee.
“We take it week by week and we don’t want to be remembered as the WP team that went to Loftus and won one week and then lost to Griquas at Newlands the next.”
DHL WESTERN PROVINCE TEAM: Gio Aplon, Gerhard van den Heever, Juan de Jongh, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt Coleman, Nic Groom, Nizaam Carr, Rynhardt Elstadt, Rohan Kitshoff, De Kock Steenkamp, Taz Fuzani, Pat Cilliers, Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: Michael Willemse, Brok Harris, Gerbrandt Grobler, Rayn Smid, Josh Katzen, Louis Schreuder, Demetri Catrakilis.
Go the MEN from WP. Lets keep the Currie Cup at Newlands - its favourite resting place.
