Griquas have named flank Gideon van der Merwe in a reshuffled team to face Western Province in the Currie Cup on Saturday 26 December 2020.
Van der Merwe has come through concussion protocols after sustaining a blow to the head during Griquas loss to the Lions on the final weekend of November.
The flanker comes into the Griquas starting XV at the expense of CJ Velleman who drops to the bench in the matchday squad for the visit to Newlands.
Van der Merwe’s return is one of several changes to the forwards, where a completely changed front row of Andrew Beerwinkel, Alandre van Rooyen and John-Roy Jenkins will start the match.
Griquas were denied a chance to record their first win last week but considering their cancelled fixture was against the table-topping Blue Bulls they should probably be satisfied with sharing the points.
Scrumhalf Zak Burger will lead Griquas again in the absence of George Whitehead while Tinus de Beer continues to fill the number ten jersey.
Griquas face a Western Province outfit who also sat out action last weekend as they bid to end their long wait for a win this season.
Western Province lock horns with Griquas on Saturday (Boxing Day) at DHL Newlands, where Province will be aiming to continue with their push for a semi-final spot. The side from Kimberley travel down to the Mother City determined to clinch their first win of the campaign. Saturday’s encounter starts at 16:30.
Griquas team
Griquas: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Andre Swarts, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Zak Burger (captain), 8 Johan Momsen, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Adre Smith, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 2 Alandre van Rooyen, 1 Andrew Beerwinkel. Replacements (from): 16 HJ Luus, 17 Mox Mxoli, 18 Tijde Visser, 19 Ewan Coetzee, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 CJ Velleman, 22 Ashlon Davids, 23 Daniel Kasende, 24 Bandisa Ndlovu, 25 Raegan Oranje.
WP Team
Western Province: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Johan du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff. Replacements (from): 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 David Meihuizen, 20 Jaco Coetzee, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Ruhan Nel, 23 Tristan Leyds, 24 Ernst van Rhyn, 25 Chris Schreuder, 26 Leolin Zas.
Match information – DHL Western Province vs Tafel Lager Griquas
Date: Saturday, 26 December 2020
Time: 16h30
Venue: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
Referee: AJ Jacobs
Assistant Referees: Cwengile Jadezweni, Divan Uys
TMO: Joey Klaaste-Salmans
TV: SuperSport Grandstand and Rugby
