WP coach Allister Coetzee has announced his team to face the Cheetahs in an Currie Cup match at Vodacom Park this Saturday.

 Frikkie Welsh comes into the starting XV at outside centre and Juan de Jongh moves to inside centre in the place of the injured Morgan Newman.    Newman sustained a knee injury against the Bulls and has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Paul Bosch takes Welsh’s place on the substitutes’ bench. Vodacom WP coach Allister Coetzee expressed confidence in his new midfield combination.

“When Morgan went off on Saturday, I was very pleased with their performance,” he said at the media conference on Wednesday. “Frikkie was very aggressive and his left boot will be useful. “Time will tell whether Juan is a 13 rather than a 12, but he has a good pass and hits his targets well. He has a high work-rate which is what you want from an inside centre. I think they´ll do well as a combination.”

Coetzee has otherwise shown faith in the combo that did so well against the Bulls. “We´re a settled side and if you want to be champions then that´s what you need. Experience and togetherness is what wins trophies,” said the former Springbok assistant coach.

“This will be Chris Jack´s last game, but we´re not overly worried that he has to leave. We back our back-up players, and Chris has played his part in mentoring the young locks at Province.”

The Vodacom WP team is as follows:

15. Joe Pietersen
14. Tonderai Chavhanga
13. Frikkie Welsh
12. Juan De Jongh
11. Gio Aplon
10. Peter Grant
9. Dewaldt Duvenage
8. Luke Watson (C)
7. Duane Vermeulen
6. Francois Louw
5. Anton Van Zyl
4. Chris Jack
3. Brok Harris
2. Deon Fourie
1. Wicus Blaauw

Reserves:

16. Hanyani Shimange
17. JD Moller
18. De Kock Steenkamp
19. Pieter Louw
20. Conrad Hoffmann
21. Paul Bosch
22. JJ Engelbrecht

Referee: Marius Jonker

Kick-off is at 15:00