Dobson excited to see Province in action
WESTERN Province will field a team with a number of changes for their Currie Cup home game against Griquas tomorrow.
Four Springboks will form part of John Dobson’s side for their fourth game of the season after Bok coach Rassie Erasmus released 10 players for Currie Cup and club duty on Wednesday. Bongi Mbonambi, Wilco Louw, Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Damian Willemse will all join fit-again JJ Engelbrecht in the defending champions’ run-on side this weekend.
WP have won all three of their Currie Cup matches of the this season in stunning fashion, bagging maximum points in Cape Town, Nelspruit and Joburg.
Mbonambi and Louw join Alistair Vermaak in the front row, with Caylib Oosthuizen, Scarra Ntubeni and Michael Kumbirai on the bench.
Former SA Schools captain Salmaan Moerat partners captain Chris van Zyl in the second row, while Notshe links up with Kobus van Dyk and Juarno Augustus in the loose trio.
In the backline there are three changes to the team that thrashed the Golden Lions last week. Scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies will make his first start of the season, while Engelbrecht and Willemse come in on the left wing and fullback respectively.
Justin Phillips, Dan du Plessis and Dillyn Leyds will provide backline cover on the bench.
“The only sort-of voluntary one (change) was JD Schickerling sitting out, but the rest – when you get four or five guys from the Springboks, we have to accommodate them,” Dobson said. “There isn’t a decision to be made about that. And obviously it is a massive boost for our team. But Salmaan, Ernst and Chris all need rugby.”
“The only guy who hasn’t played for us – the only Springbok – is Damian Willemse. The rest have all been with us at some stage, so it isn’t too disruptive.”
Willemse will start at fullback in the place of Leyds, and during the team announcement yesterday, Dobson said that Willemse starting at 15 with Josh Stander at 10 could bring some excitement in front of their home crowd.
The other exciting prospect the
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WP coach is looking forward to is scrumhalf Jantjies.
Said Dobson: “He is such an exciting prospect. He is very similar to Jano (Vermaak) as in he is a very fast clearer of the ball. They aren’t big carriers ... their game is about giving rhythm to our attack. So, in a sense it is almost like-for-like. Justin (Phillips) and Paul (de Wet) are both more carriers and looking for opportunitie ... so I think it is important that Herschel gives us rhythm on attack like Jano has been.”