Boland coach Hawies Fourie sticks with winning formula for Currie Cup clash against Griquas

The Boland Cavaliers will field an unchanged match-day 23 for Sunday’s Currie Cup match against Griquas in Kimberley.

Fresh off a thrilling 37–35 home victory over the Cheetahs in Wellington — a match that was decided after 88 pulsating minutes — coach Hawies Fourie has opted for continuity as his side looks to build momentum in their return to top-flight rugby in South Africa.

“We decided to keep the team unchanged for this weekend’s match,” said Fourie. “We were fortunate not to suffer any serious injuries. Laurence Victor had an ankle injury, but he’s been cleared to play. The other guys just had a few bumps and bruises, but they are all fit.”

This means that experienced scrumhalf Louis Schreuder is once again unavailable due to an ankle injury sustained last week during a training session.

“It’s important to have consistency in your team selection,” Fourie explained. “We’ve got quite a few guys who joined us just before the Currie Cup started and haven’t played for Boland before. I feel it’s a good thing to keep the team the same and give the players another opportunity to get to know each other and gel.”

Despite the emotional high of beating the Cheetahs in front of a large and vocal home crowd at the Boland Stadium, Fourie remains grounded and is demanding improvement.

“There’s still a lot we need to sharpen up on. We struggled in the scrums in the second half and made a few handling errors and mistakes at the rucks,” he said. “We’ve worked hard this week, and I believe we’ll be better on Sunday.”

Facing a well-coached and dangerous Griquas side at home presents a formidable test for the men from Wellington.

“They’ve got a proper team with exciting backs, and they play at a high tempo. If we look back at the SA Cup clash between Boland and Griquas earlier this year, we can expect a fast-paced game with plenty of tries. It’s going to be exciting for the fans, and we’re looking forward to it,” concluded Fourie.

Kickoff in Kimberley is at 3pm on Sunday.

Boland team

15 James Tedder, 14 Marcqiewn Titus, 13 David Brits, 12 Lunathi Nxele, 11 Donavan Don, 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Chriswill September, 8 Sibusiso Sangweni, 7 Khwezi Mafu, 6 Gift Dlamini, 5 Marlyn Williams (captain), 4 Michael Benadie, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 Sidney Tobias, 1 Wayrin Losper.

Bench: 16 HP van Schoor, 17 Lamla Nunu, 18 Laurence Victor, 19 Ameer Hendricks, 20 Thurlow Marsh, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Juan Mostert, 23 Xavier Mitchell.