Fourie changes seven, a reunited centre combination

Hawies Fourie, head coach of the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers, made seven changes and four positional shifts to his side that beat the Leopards, 12-33, last week, ahead of the penultimate round-robin SA Cup match against the Airlink Pumas.

Tried and tested combinations will be relied on when the men from Wellington travel to Mbombela to face the current SA Cup Champions in their backyard.

The top try and point scorer in this year’s competition, Xavier Mitchell, moves from outside centre to the left wing, the latter being a position where he scored nine of his 13 tries. Jurick Lewis is named at inside centre and reunites with his CPUT midfield partner, Lunathi Nxele, at outside centre. The duo have been a familiar pairing for CPUT since 2019, winning the competition with the Bellville side in 2019 and then again in 2021.

Jade Stighling (hamstring) and James Tedder (concussion) have been ruled out for selection, with Mitchell and Chris Smit replacing them at left wing and fly-half, respectively.

Louis Schreuder teams up with Smit to form the halfback pairing. Jayden Bantom, fullback, and Duren Hoffman, right wing, complete the back three with Mitchell.

Up front, Sidney Tobias has been named in the starting lineup since Round Five, with Joshua Eras making way for the seasoned front-rower. Dewald Maritz and Doctor Booysen will pack down next to Tobias. Marlyn Williams and Jeandre Leonard will once again form the second-row combination, albeit the 90-cap Bolander Williams will don the number 5 jumper and Leonard will wear number 4.

Thurlow Marsh leads the side from the number eight with Sibusiso Sangweni, openside, and Sauliegh Arendse, blindside, combining as the loose trio.

Last week’s props, Mthokozisi Gumede and Dayan van der Westhuizen, will provide cover from the bench while Kwanda Dimaza and Taine Booysen complete the forwards among the replacements. Chriswill September provides scrumhalf cover while young Thurlon Williams and prolific Domenic Smit complete the 5-3 split on the bench.

Sanlam Boland Kavaliers: 15 Jayden Bantom, 14 Duren Hoffman, 13 Lunathi Nxele, 12 Jurick Lewis, 11 Xavier Mitchell, 10 Chris Smit, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Thurlow Marsh (capt), 7 Sibusiso Sangweni, 6 Sauliegh Arendse, 5 Marlyn Williams, 4 Jeandre Leonard, 3 Doctor Booysen, 2 Sidney Tobias, 1 Dewald Maritz