Die Currie Cup kom weer!
|Published
NOG PROVINCE: Holders WP. Photo: MUZI NTOMBELA/BACKPAGEPIX NOG PROVINCE: Holders WP. Photo: MUZI NTOMBELA/BACKPAGEPIX
Western Province will go all out to successfully defend the Currie Cup trophy they won last year against the Sharks at Newlands on Saturday.
Coach John Dobson’s men beat the Durbanites 33-21 in their own backyard last year and will look to do so again in the 4 pm kickoff.
For the clash, Dobson moved flyhalf Damian Willemse to inside centre.
Willemse, who played fullback in the decider between the two teams last year, will wear the No.12 jersey tomorrow with Josh Stander coming in at No.10.
The two other changes from the team that beat the Blue Bulls 35-35 in the semifinal last weekend, see scrumhalf Jano Vermaak and No.8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe come in for Herschel Jantjies and Juarno Augustus respectively.
Of the big change at flyhalf, Dobson says: “We felt that the Sharks will be very territorially based, so we wanted to have a bit more firepower there.
“Obviously with Damian at 12 we’ve got an extra kicking option.
“I don’t see it as a risk - we would be more at risk if we carried on how we were.
“Damian’s short-term international position is at fullback.
“[And] to ask a kid as a fullback to hit the line at full speed - [then] what we saw last week is Damian take the ball at full speed [at flyhalf] and we struggled to get outside their rush.”