WP bench Leyds for Van Wyk
The hard-running Van Wyk comes in for Leyds on the right-wing, scrumhalf Godlen Masimla replaces Nic Groom, who is on Barbarians duty in London, and Alistair Vermaak starts at loosehead prop in place of the injured Oli Kebble.
Kebble's hamstring has not recovered sufficiently from the weekend, whilst exciting talent Masimla will make his first Currie Cup start for Province in the absence of both Groom and Jano Vermaak, who injured his finger against the Bulls.
Fit-again halfback Louis Schreuder is the new scrumhalf replacement and he will be joined on the bench by Currie Cup debutant JP Smith – the new prop replacement – and lock Jan de Klerk, who comes in for the injured Chris van Zyl (knee).
Coach John Dobson said: "Enough has been said about last weekend's defeat. We were not good enough and we all know that.
"It's a short turnaround this week, so we have not harped on things too much, preferring, instead, to get to work and put things right.
"The guys have trained well so far and the new faces have brought some new energy too, so we're looking forward to putting things right in Bloemfontein," he said.
Dobson is excited to see what all of the new faces can add to the team's performance.
"We all know what Kobus van Wyk is capable of with his direct running from the wing, but, as a coaching staff, we're particularly excited about Godlen Masimla's first start at this level.
"Dawie Snyman and I first spotted him as a raw 20-year-old in 2012 and he has come through the ranks from UWC, our Under-21s and our Vodacom Cup set-up. This is a great opportunity for him to show what he can do," added Dobson.
The Cheetahs, who lost in the rain to WP in Round Two, bounced back to form last weekend with a bonus point victory over Griquas and Dobson has warned of a tough challenge awaiting his team.
"The Cheetahs will be eyeing up this match as a one to win – they're at home against a team that lost heavily a few days ago and they ran us close in Cape Town two weeks ago," he said.
"At the same time, we know we need to win and win well, but we need to remain controlled and focused on the plan at hand in order to prevent a repeat of last week."
Western Province: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Jaco Taute, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Nizaam Carr (captain), 7 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 JP Smith, 18 Jan de Klerk, 19 Chris Cloete, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Dillyn Leyds.
Date: Friday, August 28
Venue: Free State Stadium
Kick-off: 19.10 (17.10 GMT)
Referee: Stuart Berry
Assistant referees: Sindile Ngcese, Pieter Maritz
TMO: Willie Vos
