Juan de Jongh
Fit-again Springbok centre Juan de Jongh returns to captain DHL Western Province in their crunch match against the Xerox Golden Lions.
De Jongh has been out of action since suffering an MCL injury against the Toyota Free State Cheetahs in mid-August and his return to fitness is a massive boost for the defending champions ahead of the 2015 play-offs.
De Jongh will start at inside centre ahead of Huw Jones, as the WP coaching staff intends to control his game time upon his return to action.
In other changes to the line-up from the side that beat the Steval Pumas, Cheslin Kolbe, Nic Groom, Chris Cloete, Jean Kleyn and Steven Kitshoff all return to the starting 15.
Kolbe has been bracketed with Dillyn Leyds for now, with Kobus van Wyk on standby on the right wing (should Leyds move to fullback or not start at all), with head coach John Dobson expected to make a call on his back 3 before kick-off.
Oli Kebble, Jurie van Vuuren and Jones revert to the bench this week, having all started in the 50 / 19 romp over the Steval Pumas at Newlands, with halfbacks Godlen Masimla and Kurt Coleman the new faces on the bench this week.
Masimla replaces Jano Vermaak who has a slight groin niggle, whilst Coleman – having overcome his calf muscle injury – returns for Demetri Catrakilis, who has been released from his Western Province Rugby contract in order to join French Top 14 club, Montpellier.
“This match is a massive challenge – playing against the in-form and unbeaten Lions at altitude, it doesn’t get any tougher.
“We’re very happy to have Juan back. Medically, he has 40 minutes in him and we intend to control his game time, which is 1 of the reasons why we have decided to start with him. Like I said earlier in the week, he is our team leader and everyone looks up to him, so his leadership and experience are also big reasons as to why he is starting.
“We had some very tough selection meetings this week. A player like Allister Vermaak can consider himself very unfortunate to miss out altogether, but we feel we have selected the best possible starting team, along with a powerful bench, to do the job for us this Friday.
“We’re being very careful with guys like Dillyn, Cheslin and also Rynhardt. Both Dillyn and Cheslin have small niggles, but we might not want to risk both of them with Kobus 100% fit,” Dobson said.
DHL Western Province: 15 Cheslin Kolbe / Dillyn Leyds, 14 Dillyn Leyds / Kobus van Wyk, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Juan de Jongh (Captain), 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6 Chris Cloete, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Michael Willemse, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Chris van Zyl, 19 Jurie van Vuuren, 20 Godlen Masimla, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Huw Jones.
Date: Friday 2 October
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-Off: 18:00 SA Time (16:00 GMT)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Referees: Jason Jaftha, Lourens van der Merwe
TMO: Johan Greeff
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