De Villiers starts for WP
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers will start at inside centre for a Western Province XV team in their pre-season friendly against the Pumas at the Drakenstein Correctional Centre in Franschhoek.
It will be the stalwart's second match since returning from a horrific knee injury he suffered against Wales in Cardiff last year. De Villiers played his first game of rugby in eight months last weekend, coming off the bench for the Springboks against the World XV at Newlands, and he is expected to get about 40 minutes of game time this Saturday.
De Villiers will partner Huw Jones at centre in a very young WP XV selection. WP Vodacom Cup captain Michael Willemse will lead the side.
WP head coach John Dobson said he his using the game to test his squad's depth ahead of this year's Currie Cup
“This game is very early in our Absa Currie Cup preparations – we started on the field (training) only last Thursday and have tried to do a fair amount in that time" Dobson told the Western Province website
"We know we are undercooked, but it's part of a deliberate plan in the build-up to our first game of the Currie Cup competition. We are also using this game as a chance to look at our depth – depth that we will need during the Currie Cup.
"We wanted to give our Super Rugby players as much rest as we can, but having said that, with one or two notable exceptions, it is a very young team – a team made up of players who will have the opportunity to put up their hands for greater things. I am excited to see a lot of these players in action.
"We know all too well how the Pumas beat our Vodacom team in the Vodacom Cup Final at Newlands a few weeks ago," added Dobson, who coached WP to that final in late May. "We know it’s going to be a very hard test, but it is exactly what we need."
WP XV: 15 EW Viljoen, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Tshotsho Mbovane, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Rayn Smid, 7 Josh Katzen, 6 Taps Tsomondo, 5 Jan de Klerk, 4 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Michael Willemse (captain), 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements (from): 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Justin Benn, 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Jano Vermaak, 23 Ernst Stapelberg, 24 Brandon Thomson, 25 Kyle Lombard, 26 Jarryd Sage.
Source: wprugby.com
