Herewith a team by team breakdown of the selected sides for this weekend’s Currie Cup Premier Division matches.

GWK Griquas:

Griquas coach Pote Human made a number of changes, some injury related, to his rugby side for their Currie Cup derby against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

After a poor display in the scrums against Western Province last week, the coach has opted to drop prop Steph Roberts from the starting line-up.

Roberts conceded several penalties in Cape Town, and Human has instead called up Janro van Niekerk, who will look to bolster Griquas’ scrums against a side renowned for their set-piece play.

“Steph has done well thus far, but he needs a rest and this weekend is the perfect opportunity,” Human said.

“Janro comes into the starting line-up. He has impressed in practice and deserves his shot.

“We are looking forward to a good performance by him.”

Wing Jannie Boshoff comes in for Richard Lawson, who injured his shoulder against WP and is replaced by Boshoff, who was absent for two weeks after the sudden death of his father.

“It is bad for Richard that he got injured. He had a good couple of games,” Human said.

“We are happy to welcome Jannie back though and we know he, Rocco Jansen and Willie le Roux will form an exciting back three that will counter any attack that the Cheetahs can dish out.”

Griquas also welcome back eighth man Leon Karemaker and veteran centre JP Nel.

Karemaker withdrew from the clash against Western Province, but has recovered from his knee injury, while Nel is included on the replacement bench after he fractured his hand in the first game of the Currie Cup against the Blue Bulls.

“We are well aware of how important the game against the Cheetahs is,” Human said.

“For that reason Leon and JP Nel’s return to the playing field is welcome. We are looking forward to a great game.”

Griquas: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Jannie Boshoff, 13 Jean Stemmet, 12 Walter Venter, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Leon Karemaker, 7 Wesley Wilkins, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Rynhardt Landman, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Ryno Barnes (Captain), 1 Janro van Niekerk
Replacements: 16 Matt Dobson, 17 Ivann Espag, 18 Edwin Hewitt, 19 Justin Downey, 20 Jacques Coetzee, 21 Marnitz Boshoff, 22 JP Nel.

Date: Saturday 29 September
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 14:00 SA Time (12:00 GMT)
Referee: Jason Jaftha
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen, François de Bruin
TMO: Gerrie Coetzee

Toyota Free State Cheetahs:

Free State Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské has made one tactical change to his side for their Currie Cup encounter against Griquas here on Saturday.

Flyhalf Sias Ebersohn has been promoted to the starting line-up in place of Tewis de Bruyn, with the latter relegated to the replacement bench.

Sias Ebersohn showed some real prowess against the Blue Bulls last weekend and Drotské has included him to counter Griquas playmaker Francois Brummer.

With skipper Robert Ebersohn starting at inside centre, it will also be the first time since their matric year in 2007 that the Ebersohn brothers have started a game directly next to each other in the backline.

Among the replacements, the Cheetahs’ newest addition, Maties prop Brummer Badenhorst, comes in for Coenie Oosthuizen, who was called up to the Springbok squad.

“We know that Griquas have a strong team and that we need to improve on our performance against the Blue Bulls last week,” Drotské said after naming his team on Wednesday.

“We’ve left the team as is to build some much needed momentum.”

Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Nico Scheepers, 13 Raymond Rhule, 12 Robert Ebersohn (Captain), 11 Rayno Benjamin, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Francois Uys, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Hercu Liebenberg, 1 Marcel van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 AJ le Roux, 17 Brummer Badenhorst, 18 Carl Wegner, 19 Hendro Scholtz, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Philip Snyman, 22 Andries Strauss.

Date: Saturday 29 September
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 14:00 SA Time (12:00 GMT)
Referee: Jason Jaftha
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen, François de Bruin
TMO: Gerrie Coetzee

Vodacom Blue Bulls:

Vodacom Blue Bulls coach Pine Pienaar named CJ Stander at No 8 in a reshuffled loose trio combination for his side’s Absa Currie Cup match against The Sharks in Durban on Friday.

With Jacques Potgieter being recalled to the Springboks squad, Arno Botha moves from No 8 to seven in place of Potgieter, allowing Stander back into the starting line-up.

The rest of the side that beat the Free State Cheetahs last weekend will again do duty, with Lionel Cronjè bracketed with Louis Fouchè at flyhalf, with the latter an injury concern.

On the bench, Warwick Tecklenburg takes Stander’s place, while Tukkies flyhalf Willie du Plessis will be on standby, should he need to replace Cronjè on the bench.

Grant Hattingh has also being declared fit and will replace Cornell Hess on the bench.

Bjorn Basson will be given another week to regain full fitness.

Blue Bulls: 15 Jürgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Sampie Mastriet, 10 Louis Fouchè / Lionel Cronjè, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Arno Botha, 6 Dewald Potgieter (Captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Mornè Mellett
Replacements: 16 Bongo Mbonambi, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Warwick Tecklenburg, 20 Ruan Snyman, 21 Lionel Cronjè / Willie du Plessis, 22 Ulrich Beyers.

Date: Friday 28 September
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 19:10 (17:10 GMT)
Referee: TBC
Assistants: TBC
TMO: TBC

DHL Western Province:

DHL Western Province head coach Allister Coetzee has named his team for Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup clash against the MTN Golden Lions at DHL Newlands (14:00).

Notable selections include Damian de Allende who moves up from the bench and starts in jersey 11, in for the injured Gio Aplon, with Pat Howard on the bench as cover in jersey 22. Tyrone Holmes starts at 7 after serving a 1 week suspension last week. As a result, Don Armand returns to 4 lock, with Wilhelm van der Sluys dropping to the bench in jersey 18 and JJ Gagiano falling out of the match 22, after debuting for DHL WP last week.

Coetzee has stuck with the same U21 front row combination of Malherbe, Ntubeni and Kitshoff, that started against Griquas last weekend and has again opted for 2 props on the bench in Carstens and Harris.

Berton Klaasen provides cover on the bench, in for the injured Gary van Aswegen who has been ruled out for at least the rest of the season with his recurring ankle injury.

Western Province: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Marcel Brache, 11 Damian de Allende, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Tyrone Holmes, 6 Deon Fourie (Captain), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Don Armand, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Deon Carstens, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 19 Helmut Lehmann, 20 Nic Groom, 21 Berton Klaasen, 22 Patrick Howard.

Date: Saturday 29 September 29
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Kick-off: 14:00 SA Time (12:00 GMT)
Referee: Marius Jonker
Assistant referees: Christie du Preez, Linston Manuels
TMO: Deon van Blommestein

The Sharks

The Sharks and Blue Bulls go head-to-head in Friday night’s Absa Currie Cup showdown at Mr Price KINGS PARK, a mouth-watering derby game between two old foes, both hell-bent on achieving victory.

The log is congested at the top and any team that wins could jump a few places and the teams that lose could fall into a precarious position with the semi-finals just over three weeks away.

The Sharks are second, the Blue Bulls second last, and this puts an interesting hue on the game.

“There’s not much in it on the log,” admits Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford. “The Lions are only just ahead of us and Province have caught up now as well. It’s really the side that wins the next three games that is likely to have a home semi-final and final. With two of our last three games taking place at home, where we have only lost once this year, we really want to start building momentum heading into the knockout stage.”

Coach John Plumtree has lost Lwazi Mvovo and Craig Burden back to Springboks, with Louis Ludik selected on the wing and Pieter Dixon at hooker. In other changes from last week’s side that played the Lions, Riaan Viljoen takes over at fullback and Meyer Bosman is shifted to flyhalf. This opens the door for Paul Jordaan who starts at outside centre, pairing with Tim Whitehead.

Kyle Cooper has made his return from injury and will provide back-up at hooker off the bench.

The Bulls, like The Sharks, are missing a high number of players, and their response this weekend in particular will be watched with eager-anticipation – as will The Sharks’.

“The Bulls responded well to the pressure they’ve found themselves under,” Bashford explains. “They would have viewed their game against the Cheetahs as a sort of final for them to move off the bottom of the log. So having come through that with a win will have given them a boost and some confidence. Their defence was much-improved and we know it’s going to be another highly physical match this weekend.

“The Sharks and Bulls always bring the best out of each other.”

The Sharks: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Louis Ludik, 10 Meyer Bosman, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Keegan Daniel (Captain), 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Pieter Dixon, 1 Dale Chadwick
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Julian Redelinghuys, 18 Jandre Marais, 19 Lubabalo Mtembu, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Marius Joubert, 22 S’bura Sithole.

MTN Golden Lions

The Golden Lions Rugby Union announced the MTN Golden Lions team to play DHL Western Province on Saturday 29 September at Newlands, Cape Town, this afternoon.

There are three changes to the starting line up:

• Jaco Kriel replaces Willie Britz at Blindside Flank, while Britz moves to the bench in place of Kriel
• Butch James replaces Elton Jantjies (who has been called up to the Springbok squad) at Flyhalf
• Dylan des Fountain starts at Inside Centre in place of Jaco Taute who has joined the Springbok Squad

On the bench there are five changes:

• Martin Bezuidenhout replaces Bandise Maku at Replacement Hooker
• Ruan Dreyer replaces CJ van der Linde (who has been called up to the Springbok squad) at Replacement prop
• Willie Britz replaces Jaco Kriel at Utility Forward
• Deon van Rensburg makes a welcome return from injury at Utility Back in place of Butch James who starts at Flyhalf
• James Kamana returns to the team at Utility Back for Dylan des Fountain who starts at Inside Centre this week.

Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Deon Helberg, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Dylan des Fountain, 11 Ruan Combrinck, 10 Butch James, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg (Captain)
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Ettienne Oosthuizen, 19 Willie Britz, 20 Ross Cronje, 21 Deon van Rensburg, 22 James Kamana.