No sign of Faf for Pumas
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The Pumas will not be able to call on the services of star scrumhalf Francois de Klerk after he was ruled out for the rest of the season without playing a game in the Currie Cup.
De Klerk was injured late in the Lions' Super Rugby campaign and has been on the waiting list to return for the Pumas for some time.
However, the scrumhalf's season is now over before it started with a knee injuring ruling him out for the rest of the year.
Pumas assistant coach MJ Mentz said although injuries were part and parcel of the game, they had been hit by a slew of setbacks to their scrumhalf stocks.
"In our off-season, we had four scrum halves training with us knowing it would be a crucial position for us, and with Dylon [Frylinck] out Reynier [ van Rooyen] made a big step up in the first two games. Unfortunately, he got injured as well," Mentz said.
"But he is back to his best now and he is putting his hand up so we are not too worried about that position – with Reynier and Sinovuyo Nyoka there."
The Pumas have made two changes for the match against Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday.
Coenie van Wyk, another Lions Super Rugby player, will make his first start of the season at fullback having fully recovered from injury, while JW Bell drops to the bench
In the only other change, Reynier van Rooyen will start at scrumhalf after Dylon Frylinck was also ruled out with a knee injury.
Sinovuyo Nyoka will cover the scrumhalf position from the bench.
The high flying Pumas face off against the Griquas (who recorded a famous victory against the Sharks last weekend) in a bid to remain as far away from the relegation zone as possible.
Pumas: 15 Coenie van Wyk, 14 Jerome Pretorius, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Rosko Speckman, 10 Justin van Staden, 9 Reynier van Rooyen, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Corné Steenkamp (captain), 5 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 4 Frikkie Spies, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Francois du Toit, 1 Corné Fourie.
Replacements: 16 Frankie Herne, 17 DeJay Terblanche, 18 Marius Coetzer, 19 Jaco Bouwer, 20 Sinovuyo Nyoka, 21 JC Roos, 22 JW Bell.
Date: Saturday, September 13
Venue: GWK Park, Kimberley
Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant referees: Rodney Bonaparte, Francois de Bruin Francois
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