The return to full-strength rugby has backfired quite spectacularly on DHL Western Province, who will be travelling to Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup semifinal against the Lions without three of the Springboks who starred in their win over the Toyota Cheetahs last week.
Hooker Tiaan Liebenberg and lock Andries Bekker were already ruled out earlier in the week, and now it has been confirmed that they will also be unavailable for the end-of-year tour.
Add to that now skipper Jean de Villiers, who may still tour pending a scan on a strained hamstring but who is definitely out of the rest of the Currie Cup.
De Villiers left the field during a training session at Newlands on Wednesday morning and has been replaced in the starting team for the Coca-Cola Park match by Marcel Brache.
Fortunately, as coach Allister Coetzee pointed out, Brache has played almost the entire Currie Cup campaign, which does beg the question – why not continue with the process of bleeding in young player that the domestic competition has become, rather than risk your Springboks?
Coetzee made the same point about his skipper, Deon Fourie, who led WP in all the games until De Villiers returned last week.
“I am entirely comfortable with having Deon as the skipper as he has led the team for most of the season so there is nothing new there,” said Coetzee.
There are four changes to the side that beat the Cheetahs 36-15 at Newlands last weekend.
Gio Aplon returns to the starting team after playing off the bench four days ago, and he takes up the fullback position that he filled before his injury against Griquas a few weeks ago.
This is a notable selection, as he displaces regular fullback Joe Pietersen, who was out injured earlier in the season.
“Gio brings something as a fullback that we need against the Lions, but I am not giving our game-plan away by disclosing what that is,” grinned Coetzee at the team announcement press conference.
De Kock Steenkamp replaces Bekker in the second row, as he did in the second half against the Cheetahs, while Scarra Ntubeni, who had a nightmare day with his lineout throwing the last time he started in a Currie Cup match, will come back for Liebenberg in the front row.
WP under-21 star Damian de Allende, who also played a lot of rugby for Province earlier in the season, is also back in the squad, and joins Louis Schreuder and Pietersen among the backline reserves.
Wilhelm van Sluys comes in for Steenkamp as the lock reserve.
DHL WESTERN PROVINCE: Gio Aplon, Gerhard van den Heever, Juan de Jongh, Marcel Brache, Bryan Habana, Demetri Catrakilis, Nic Groom, Duane Vermeulen, Don Armand, Deon Fourie (captain), De Kock Steenkamp, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Scarra Ntubeni, Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: Deon Carstens, Brok Harris, Wilhelm van Sluys, Jebb Sinclair, Louis Schreuder, Damian de Allende, Joe Pietersen.
SuperSport
