JOHANNESBURG, August 24 (ANA) – The Eastern Province Kings will face Western Province with four changes to their starting lineup for their Currie Cup clash at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
The Kings went down 49-35 to the Bulls at Loftus, in Pretoria, last week and were prompted into making the changes to their side.
Coach Barend Pieterse announced Ricky Schroeder would again captain the side, with hooker Mike Willemse as his vice captain.
Pieterse has made four changes to his starting line up, including two positional changes.
New addition JC Greyling, who hails from Namibia, starts at outside centre and Burton Klaasen moving to inside centre, after Waylon Murray was given a rest.
“Waylon has been battling a bit with a tight hamstring, so we have decided to rest him ahead of this game and use the opportunity to see what JC can do,†said Pieterse.
Among the forwards Ettiene Oosthuizen comes up from the bench to flank, while Sebastian Ferreira moves from flank to Lock to replace David Antonites, who has been ruled out after scans earlier this week revealed he had fractured his hand during the game against the Bulls.
Pieterse said he was expecting a tough game on Saturday as WP were coming off two losses and had their backs against the wall.
“They will be under a lot of pressure to secure the win,†he said.
Pieterse said the following week was going to be a big ask of the Kings squad, as they would be playing three games in the space of seven days, playing WP on Saturday, before facing Griquas in Kimberly on Wednesday evening and the playing the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein the following Saturday.
“This is the kind of situation you associate more with craven week than Currie Cup, but it is the situation we are faced with and we will do our best to deal with it,†he said.
Captain Schroeder said the team’s performance against the Blue Bulls had been a real confidence-builder, and they were looking forward to take the momentum into the game against WP on the weekend.
“WP is a big union and a very professional side, and will be coming down to prove a point. We will have our work cut out for us, we’re not going to get anything given to us on a silver platter,†said Schroeder.
Kings Team: 15. Johann Tromp, 14. Siviwe Soyizwapi, 13. JC Greyling, 12. Burton Klaasen, 11. Sampie Mastriet, 10. Kobus Marais, 9 .Ricky Schroeder (capt), 8. Christiaan De Bruin, 7. Etienne Oosthuizen, 6. Vince Jobo, 5. Sebastian Ferreira, 4. Tazz Fuzani, 3. Vukile Sofisa, 2. Mike Willemse, 1. Justin Forwood. Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Barend Potgieter, 18 Dylon Pieterse, 19 Luke vd Smit, 20 Brandon Brown, 21 Lungelo Goza, 22 Ganfried May. – African News Agency (ANA)
