THE WINDHOEK Draught Griquas have made limited changes to the squad that will take the field against the Airlink Pumas in what is expected to be a thrilling Carling Currie Cup final at Windhoek Draught Park in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon.
The Griquas’ technical team has made changes to the team’s second row for Saturday’s encounter against the Pumas, deviating slightly from the team selection that took the field against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld last Friday evening.
Cameron Lindsay comes in at number four to replace Johan Retief this time around while Derik Pretorius merely swaps places from the left to the right on the second row for this clash.
Werner Gouws, who was on the bench for last week’s game against the Bulls, is now the preferred blind-side flanker in place of Niel Otto.
Kudzwai Dube is now almost a regular at loosehead prop as he again makes the starting line-up, but Eddie Davids remains the coaches’ preferred and likely replacement for Dube, depending on how the technical team will read the game on Saturday.
Hanru Sirgel, who ran in a try against the Bulls in the second half, is retained for this match as is Siba Qoma in the forwards. Qoma was last week the target of a dangerous tackle by the Bulls but his inclusion indicates that it was not serious enough to warrant a reserve for him.
At the back the most significant change is at scrumhalf where coaches Pieter Bergh and Barend Pieterse have shoved in Stefan Ungerer in place of Johan Mulder, who had a run against the Bulls.
Zander du Plessis, Luther Obi, Rynhardt Jonker, Sango Xamlashe, Munier Hartzenberg and George Whitehead made selection as well this time, almost solidifying a backline that Griquas have relied upon for most of the season.
Ashlon Davids enjoyed a short run last week in Gauteng but has been benched for this match.
In last week's game against the Bulls, Griquas were extremely conservative, or perhaps cautious in making changes and kept it to a minimum compared to the almost wholesale changes that the Bulls made, perhaps in desperation resulting from the unrelenting pressure applied by Griquas against them in that match.
On the face of it, the Pumas are a changed team this season. Their place in this final is testimony to a new resolve that indicates a heightened tactical approach in their game.
The Mpumalanga side are making a maiden appearance in the cup final in contrast to Griquas who have a decades old title in the bag and a semi-final appearance within the last five years.
The match starts at 3pm. Live broadcasts will be carried on pay television channel SuperSport.