CAPE TOWN – Western Province head coach John Dobson says he’s hoping they can continue improving their attack when they host the Pumas at Newlands on Sunday.
A big factor in that will be fullback Warrick Gelant, who will make his first start this year since returning from a long-term injury.
Gelant made his return from injury off the bench last week and is one of five changes to the starting line-up for the clash with the Mpumalanga team, which kicks off at 4pm on Sunday.
In the backline, the experienced midfielder Juan de Jongh will captain the side and form the centre pairing with Dan du Plessis, while Rikus Pretorius, who started in their 40-39 edging of the Cheetahs, is set to make an impact off the bench.
Up front, Evan Roos and Johan du Toit come into the starting loose trio to link up with Nama Xaba, while the only other change is in the front row, with loosehead prop Leon Lyons coming in.
“This is probably the best team we could put out, so I am quite excited,” Dobson said.
“In terms of getting into the semi-finals, it’s a very important game. The Pumas are a physical team and their maul is very good, we also know they have a good kicking game. We are expecting a very direct game, we’re not expecting them to run us off our feet.”
Dobson added that it has been tough playing without a specialist fullback, while he also said he is expecting the Springbok’s presence to bring some influence.
Here is your DHL WP team that will run out at Newlands on Sunday to take on the New Nation Pumas. #wpjoulekkerding #dhldelivers 🔵⚪️
— WP RUGBY (@WP_RUGBY) August 12, 2021
📆 Sunday, 15 August
⏰ 16h00
🏟️ Newlands
📺 @SuperSportTV pic.twitter.com/9bc0wKJ0lT
“We want to vary our attack and also play wide, we want to try and blend it. We got some success in Nelspruit when we went through the middle. Our biggest emphasis will probably be not to concede the points we did last week. We have worked on our tackle technique and we made some system errors defensively.
“Warrick has got real, real X-factor. He is one of the best attacking fullbacks in the world, so to have him back is great.”
Western Province: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Juan de Jongh (captain), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Johan du Toit, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 David Meihuizen, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Leon Lyons.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Deon Fourie, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Rikus Pretorius, 23 Tristan Leyds, 24 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 25 De Wet Marais.
IOL Sport