The only change to the team is at flank, with debutant Carel van der Merwe coming in for Lourens Oosthuizen, who is out with concussion. This will be a very tricky game for the Griquas as they go hunting for an eighth consecutive win against Western Province.

Marco de Witt (right). Photo: Louis Botha/Griquas

While the team from Cape Town hasn’t yet delivered the desired results after two rounds, they remain a formidable unit on paper and will certainly be up for the challenge in Kimberley.

The Peacock Blues are looking to build on their sensational 48–39 win against Boland on Sunday, and coach Pieter Bergh told OFM Sport his players have earned their selection.

“Continuity is always a big thing for me. I thought the players who featured last week were really good for 70 minutes of that game,” said Bergh.

“Yes, we had a tough ten minutes before halftime where we conceded four tries, but for the rest of the match, we dominated both in possession and territory.

“If you look at the stats, it’s clear we controlled the game. In the second half alone, we scored 31 points to five, with five tries to one – and that one was an intercept. So it was important for us to reward the players for their performances.”

Connor Mahoney. Photo: Louis Botha/Griquas

“That said, continuity doesn’t always guarantee results. We saw how the Cheetahs made seven or eight changes against the Pumas, who only made one, and it was the Cheetahs who looked the more settled team.

“But for us, we’re not looking too far ahead. We’re not talking playoffs – this is our most important game of the season. We’re taking it one game at a time. Given we’re playing on the same field again against a team likely to adopt a similar approach to Boland, we saw no reason to make too many changes this week.”

For the third year running, the Griquas won’t be wearing their traditional peacock blue jerseys against Province. They’ll be donning pink instead, in partnership with CANSA, to raise awareness about cancer, a cause that affects everyone in South Africa.

Friday’s game at Suzuki Stadium kicks off at 15:00.

Griquas – 15 Connor Mahoney, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Caleb Abrahams, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Carel van der Merwe, 6 Carl Els, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 Cebo Dlamini (captain), 2 Janco Uys, 1 Eddie Davids

Replacements – 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 IG Prinsloo, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Marco de Witt, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Tom Nel, 23 Cameron Hufke

Western Province – 15 Tristan Leyds, 14 Sako Makata, 13 Justin Geduld, 12 Damian Markus, 11 Jared Africa, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Asad Moos, 8 Louw Nel, 7 De Wet Marais, 6 Zain Davids (captain), 5 Gary Porter, 4 Alex Groves, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Mhleli Khuzwayo

Replacements – 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Herman Lubbe, 19 Adam de Waal, 20 Aden da Costa, 21 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 22 Luke Burger, 23 Shilton van Wyk

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg