Western Province have called on the experience of Scarra Ntubeni and Juan de Jongh for the Currie Cup clash against the Lions at Athlone Stadium on Friday.
Springbok hooker Ntubeni, with 86 appearances for WP, and fellow Bok De Jongh (81 WP caps) both come into the starting XV to face the Joburgers.
There is one other change to the forward pack that did duty in the win against the defending champion Pumas last week, with flank Junior Pokomela returning from injury to take his place on the side of the scrum.
De Jongh forms a midfield partnership with Cornel Smit, while Luke Brger shifts to fullback and Mnombo Zwelendaba comes in on the wing.
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Head coach John Dobson said that it will require another big effort to get the win in Athlone: “We were really pleased with the character the team showed last week to fight back and get the win, but there are a few technical areas that can definitely improve.
“It has been a challenging week for this group with all of the focus and hype around the Vodacom URC Grand Final and they have sacrificed a lot to help the Stormers’ cause. It shows their dedication that they were happy to do so, while also putting in extra work to ensure that they are well prepared for this game.
“Athlone Stadium was a great venue last week and we are all looking forward to getting out there in front of the local community once again.”
WP – 15 Luke Burger, 14 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Tom Nel, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis (c), 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Louw Nel, 7 Jarrod Taylor, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Kwenzo Blose.
Subs: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Corne Weilbach, 19 George van der Westhuizen, 20 Chad Solomon, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Lloyd Koster.
Photo: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images