Juan de Jongh will come full circle as he captains Western Province in their Currie Cup clash against the Bulls at Newlands on Friday night.
The decorated centre lifted the Currie Cup at Newlands in 2014 and will once again lead the side following the unavailability of Ernst van Rhyn through injury.
De Jongh will resume his partnership with Dan du Plessis in the midfield for Western Province, with the only change among the backs from the team that bagged a bonus-point victory on Sunday against the Pumas being on the wing where Seabelo Senatla starts in place of Tristan Leyds.
Coach John Dobson has a plethora of talent to call upon with the fit-again Warrick Gelant also named among the substitutes, while veteran Deon Fourie is also back in the blue and white hoops after seven years of playing in France.
"It's an exciting period for us, with two tough home games, but a squad that is looking really confident," said Dobson.
"We've come through a very tough sequence of games and the team really lifted themselves in Nelspruit. We know the north-south derby never needs much motivation but for sure, the team will be lifted by the presence of the likes of Warrick and Deon. It's also a good opportunity to keep the continuity and we all know what leadership qualities Juan brings to the squad."
Fourie, of course, knows what it takes to win the competition and lifted the trophy as captain in 2012. He starts from the bench.
The absence of regular skipper Van Rhyn means that JD Shickerling will be joined by David Meihuizen in the second row with in-form prop Neethling Fouche the only other change to the pack. He replaces Sazi Sandi, who drops to the bench for Friday’s fixture.
"The north-south derby is always a tough, physical battle. Our forwards have shown over the past few matches their ability to dominate and we are hoping that it's a case of 'more of the same' at Newlands," added Dobson.
Friday's match kicks off at 19:00.
?? Juan De Jongh takes the armband
— WP RUGBY (@WP_RUGBY) July 29, 2021
?? Deon Fourie and Warrick Gelant among the replacements
?? "It’s an exciting period for us, with two tough home games, but a squad that is looking really confident"https://t.co/1o7pakuqQV #wpjoulekkerding #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/FDk7hybasQ
Teams:
Western Province
15 Sergeal Petersen, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Juan de Jongh (captain), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Johan du Toit, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 David Meihuizen, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Leon Lyons
Substitutes (from): 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Deon Fourie, 20 Simon Miller, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Chris Schreuder 23 Rikus Pretorius, 24 Warrick Gelant, 25 Marcel Theunissen
Bulls
TBA