Van Aswegen gets Kings start
Three weeks after having captained Western Province in a pre-season friendly, flyhalf Gary van Aswegen will make his debut for the Eastern Province Kings.
Van Aswegen, who is on loan to the Kings ahead of the Currie Cup season, headed to Port Elizabeth just days after leading WP in a match against the Namibian Welwitschias in Windhoek.
He will be at flyhalf for the Kings when they take on a Sharks XV in another pre-season friendly on Friday.
Kings coach Carlos Spencer rung the changes for the friendly in Port Elizabeth, as he continues to assess his options ahead of the Currie Cup competition.
The Kings had a convincing 66-28 win over a very young Bulls side in their last encounter and Spencer made nine changes to the starting line-up for the clash.
Spencer would be particularly interested in the performance of Van Aswegen.
"This is an opportunity for Gary to put his hand up, because he is on loan from Western Province," the Kings' New Zealand coach said.
Reflecting on the team, Spencer said the Kings squad was well-covered in all positions, but some players still had to cement their positions.
"Everyone is under pressure because nobody is guaranteed their spots at this stage," Spencer said.
"It's another opportunity for the players to put their hands up."
Luke Watson remained as captain and No.8, after returning recently from a lengthy lay-off through injury, while experienced centre Tim Whitehead received another outing in the midfield, this time alongside the promising Shane Gates.
Regular Kings backline player Siyanda Grey made a return, after more than a year off through injury.
Spencer said they were keen for the utility back, playing on the wing, to get some game time under his belt.
"I am sure there will be a few butterflies for Siyanda because he has not played for a while, but we just want him to get back into it, to do the basics well and gain confidence with some game time."
Junior Springbok wing Sergeal Petersen was also back after the Junior World Cup in New Zealand and would start on the bench, with Spencer likely to ease him back into provincial rugby during the match.
Eastern Province Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Siyanda Grey, 13 Tim Whitehead, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Tobie Botes, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Devin Oosthuizen, 6 Thembelani Bholi, 5 David Bullbring, 4 Steven Cummins, 3 Charl du Plessis, 2 Albé de Swardt, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Replacements: 16 Mike van Vuuren, 17 Tom Botha, 18 Brenden Olivier, 19 Cameron Lindsay, 20 Shaun McDonald, 21 Enrico Acker, 22 George Whitehead, 23 Sergeal Petersen.
Date: Friday, July 4
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 19.00 (17.00 GMT)
Referee: Quinton Immelman
SAPA
