Steven psyched for 100 milestone
The Kings will be looking to their 31-year-old veteren lock for inspiration when they run onto the field with several rotational changes and injury forcing coach Brent Janse van Rensburg's hand.
A grade three hamstring tear will see wing Siyanda Grey sit out for a lengthy period and has been replaced by Sylvian Mahuza.
There are several changes to the pack, with Lizo Gqoboka returning to the front row in place of Schalk Ferreira, who will be on the bench along with hard-working loose forwards Thembelani Bholi and Tim Agaba.
Bholi has been one of the outstanding players in the Kings team this season and Janse van Rensburg said it was important not to over-play him.
"Thembelani [Bholi] has played the full 80 minutes for several matches in a row and we feel he needs to have a break at this stage," Janse van Rensburg said.
This means Cornell Hess will start at lock, with Stefan Willemse, Paul Schoeman and Jacques Engelbrecht making up the loose trio.
Besides the missing Grey, the only change to the backline sees Dwayne Kelly get a chance at scrumhalf, with Enrico Acker starting on the bench.
Janse van Rensburg said they were disappointed with their performance against the Pumas, to whom they lost 9-20 in Nelspruit.
"We were off the pace and did not get the sort of possession we needed from the set-piece play. We also lost the kicking game to them, not being accurate enough, and this week we need to focus on our processes and aim to play to our full potential," he added.
Eastern Province Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Phillipus du Plessis, 12 Tim Whitehead (captain), 11 Luther Obi, 10 Karlo Aspeling, 9 Dwayne Kelly, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Replacements: 16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Thembelani Bholi, 20 Tim Agaba, 21 Enrico Acker, 22 Elgar Watts.
Date: Sturday, September 26
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 15.30 (13.30 GMT)
Referee: Quinton Immelman
Assistant referees: Renier Vermeulen, Jabian Jeftha
