VIDEO: Griquas suffer cruel blow ahead of WP showdown
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Griquas have lost their inspirational captain for a substantial period.
Coach Pieter Bergh confirmed that No.8 Ruan Steenkamp will not feature in Friday’s Currie Cup crunch match against Western Province, after having undergone knee surgery.
The influential loose forward injured the medial collateral ligament in his knee in the 41-20 win over the Pumas in a Round Three match in Kimberley a fortnight ago.
“He will be sidelined for two to three months,” Bergh said.
He described the injury setback as a “massive loss”, with the 29-year-old having taken the Kimberley outfit to the Currie Cup semifinals last year.
“He has done really well since joining us and taking over the captaincy,” he added.
The captaincy will be taken over by 24-year-old loose forward Niel Otto, who joined Griquas from the Pumas in the off-season – having previously featured with the Sharks and Western Province.
The appointment of Otto is done with a view to the future.
“Since he joined Griquas – the same time when I joined in October last year – he has made a massive impact as a leader,” the coach said.
The injury to Steenkamp will see Sibabalo Qoma move from blindside flank to No.8 and Michael Amiras coming in at the side of the scrum.
On the flipside is the return of Western Province-bound veteran scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer, who will start in the No.9 jersey and add some additional leadership to the Kimberley-based outfit.
Ungerer, 28, who was on loan to the Stormers ahead of the Currie Cup season, missed the win over the Pumas earlier this month as a result of an injury.
The seasoned back – with previous stints at the Sharks, Southern Kings and – will formally join up with the Stormers when his Griquas contract expires in October.
However, he is ready to torment his future teammates this week.
Ungerer’s return will see Raegan Oranje drop down back to the bench and Michael Amiras drop out of the matchday 22.
(Continue below …)
There is one other change to the starting XV – Jonathan Francke coming in at outside centre in place of Christopher Hollis.
Francke, 35, has played more than 100 games for the Kimberley outfit since he joined them from Boland in 2013.
Andre Swarts, a seasoned flyhalf, is making a comeback from injury on the bench.
The 26-year-old is back in Kimberley after a short stint with French outfit Narbonne in the 2019-2020 European season.
Griquas: 15 Rynhardt Jonker, 14 Munier Hartzenberg, 13 Jonathan Francke, 12 Alex-Zander du Plessis, 11 Luther Obi, 10 Theo Boshoff, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Sibabalo Qoma, 7 Michael Amiras, 6 Niel Otto (captain), 5 Derik Pretorius, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Janu Botha, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Eddie Davids.
Replacements: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Kudzwai Dube, 18 Andries Schutte, 19 Johan Retief, 20 Hanru Sirgel, 21 Raegan Oranje, 22 Andre Swarts, 23 Sango Xamlashe.
Date: Friday, February 18
Venue: Griqua Park, Kimberley
Kick-off: 19.00 (17.00 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby, Local
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen
@rugby365com
