The fiery hooker Tiaan Lange is fit and ready to face the confident young Durban side after recovering from a back niggle that ruled him out shortly before last week’s match against the Lions.

Lange had been named to start against the Lions but was withdrawn from the team just hours before kick-off. That opened the door for debutant Janus Venter, who stepped into the starting role, while loosehead prop Corné Lavagna was moved to the bench as the reserve hooker.

Venter impressed in his first appearance for the Griquas after joining the team on loan from the SWD Eagles – so much so that he has retained his place in the starting XV for Friday’s clash.

Janus Venter had an outstanding debut for the Griquas in their bonus-point win against the Lions. Photo: Morgan Piek

Griquas coach Pieter Bergh told OFM Sport that, with the hooking department stretched by injuries, Lange’s return has come as a major relief.

“Tiaan is an important player. Last week we took a big risk with Blokkie, Corné Lavagna, on the bench,” said Bergh.

“He’s actually a loosehead; he’s not a hooker. So having Tiaan back this week is big for us.

“We just felt that we want to continue with that combination of Janus starting, as he did really well, and he’s got that momentum. Tiaan is coming back from an injury, so we don’t want to throw him in straight away.”

“He’s 100% fit; he’ll be able to go. So, we believe that he, together with Eddie Davids and Ntobeko Shezi off the bench, can hopefully bring some good attitude and energy when they come onto the field.”

There is also encouraging news regarding Janco Uys, who is making good progress in his recovery.

“It also looks like Janco Uys is really doing well with his injuries, so hopefully he can be back next week. It’s good, going into the business end of the season now, to get your injured players back.

“A week or two ago we had like 10 or 11 players out. Slowly but surely, we’re getting players back. Marco de Witt is back this week as well. So, yeah, hopefully we can. It’s just an important game for us.”

Liam Koen. Photo: Morgan Piek

Further good news for the Griquas is the long-awaited Currie Cup debut of exciting flyhalf Liam Koen.

The Griquas had big plans for Koen, but a red-card suspension left him sidelined after he was sent off against Black Lion of Georgia during the Toyota Challenge.

Now, with the Currie Cup campaign reaching a crucial stage, Bergh believes Koen’s return has come at the right time – particularly with experienced flyhalf George Whitehead having already accumulated plenty of minutes on the field.

“We had big plans for Liam during that Toyota Challenge – he really started to play well in that competition, and then obviously got that suspension, which put the plans we had for him a bit on the back foot,” said Bergh.

Marco de Witt also makes his return after picking up and injury against the Bulls. Photo: Morgan Piek

“He missed the first three games and then it was, ‘Listen, George is playing well and we’ve got a settled combination there,’ and now he hasn’t played for a while. So, it was always, when is the right time to bring him in?

“George, at his age, we’ve got to try and manage his minutes as well. We can’t expect George to be at his best for 80 minutes every match. So hopefully we can give Liam some game time this week as well.”

Bergh says Koen’s involvement is also about making sure the squad is prepared should circumstances change later in the competition.

“As I said before, he’s done really well, and the plans we had for him were a bit on the back foot because of the suspension. But it’s always difficult, you know, the makeup of the bench.”

George Whitehead. Photo: Morgan Piek

“A guy like Connor Mahoney misses out. It’s good players that miss out, but we’ve got to look at that balance and see whose minutes we need to manage.

“If something happens to George in the next game or two and we are in a semi-final and we need to pick a new flyhalf, then that flyhalf needs game time. We can’t throw a guy into a big match who hasn’t played for months.

“I think it’s also important to make sure we get that balance right. Not that we are in a semi-final yet, but we’ve got to look at this game, and we’ve got to do some planning ahead as well.”

Friday’s game between the Griquas and Sharks at the Suzuki Stadium kicks off at 17:00.

Griquas - 15 Stefan Coetzee, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Bobby Alexander, 8 Carl Els, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Carel van der Merwe, 5 Albert Liebenberg (captain), 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 Ig Prinsloo, 2 Janus Venter, 1 Leon Lyons

Replacements - 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Ntobeko Shezi, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Dillon Smith, 21 Jack Hart, 22 Liam Koen, 23 Saki Makata

Sharks - 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Christie Grobbelaar, 13 Lyle Matthews, 12 Albie Bester, 11 Khuthi Rasivhaga, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Ross Braude (captain), 8 Hanu Pieterse, 7 Wasi Vyambwera, 6 Tino Mavesere, 5 Meno Barnard, 4 Johan Momsen, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 Liam van Wyk, 1 Jaco du Toit

Replacements - 16 Jacques Marais, 17 Rambo Kubheka, 18 Simphiwe Ngobese, 19 Danio Botha, 20 Sphephelo Mbonambi, 21 Juan Loots, 22 Janco Purchase, 23 Chijindu Okonta

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cvs