The defending champions have named their strongest possible side for the showdown at the Suzuki Stadium, with the weather having little influence on team selection.

Earlier this year in the SA Cup, the Griquas played a couple of matches in wet and miserable conditions. Ahead of last week’s win over the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington, the hosts also watered the field overnight, creating a heavy surface that provided the Peacock Blues with valuable preparation for what awaits them this weekend.

Sako Makata against Boland in the SA Cup - Morgan Piek

There are absolutely no surprises in the Griquas line-up, with the only real question being whether Sako Makata or Connor Mahoney would get the nod on the wing following the injury to Gurwin Wehr.

It is Makata who gets the start, and with the conditions expected to be wet, he could prove to be an ideal man for the occasion.

Griquas coach Pieter Bergh told OFM Sport that he believes his side is well prepared, with last week’s game on a wet and heavy field in Wellington also providing useful preparation.

“Yeah, definitely. I think we didn’t really look at the weather first. I think last week, with Boland watering the field overnight and playing on a very heavy field in the wind, was good preparation for us,” said Bergh.

“We learned a lot from that game that I think we can learn from for this week.

“I think that was actually good preparation, coming from Wellington with the other conditions we had last week. So, I think Sako deserves this opportunity.

“He started our first match against Province at inside centre and came off the bench in a lot of games at centre and wing.

“The conditions will definitely suit him. Even if it was good weather, we still would have backed him, but, yeah, this weather will definitely suit him.”

Pieter Bergh and Gurswin Wehr, who is out with a broken arm - Morgan Piek

Makata has effectively been preparing for a moment like this throughout the season. The powerful back has featured at centre and even spent time in the loose-forward trio, underlining his versatility and giving Bergh another valuable option within his squad.

Bergh believes Makata’s size and versatility make him something of a hybrid player, although his role against the Lions is clear: he will start on the wing.

“Yeah, definitely. We’ve developed him, obviously giving a lot of options on the bench. He can cover centre and wing, and he’s even played one or two matches where he moved to loose forward for us.

Dylan Maart will leave the Griquas at the end of the Currie Cup - Morgan Piek

“With his size, he can almost be a type of hybrid player. Obviously, not this week – he’ll play wing, and he can move to centre later if we feel we need to, or hopefully not because of injury.

“Yeah, it’s an opportunity for him to move to the lighter side, but he’s more comfortable at wing than he is at centre. We’re obviously trying to develop him as a centre going forward, but it is the position where he has played the most rugby for us.”

With the weather potentially playing a major role, both sides could be forced to adapt as the semi-final unfolds. There are also various permutations should the conditions have a significant impact on the match.

Connor Mahoney - Morgan Piek

One thing is certain, though - the Griquas know exactly what is at stake as they look to keep their title defence alive on home soil.

Kick-off for Sunday’s Currie Cup semi-final between the Griquas and Lions at the Suzuki Stadium is scheduled for 13:00.

Griquas - 15 Stefan Coetzee, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Sako Makata, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Bobby Alexander, 8 Carl Els, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 IG Prinsloo, 2 Tiaan Lange, 1 Leon Lyons

Replacements - 16 Janco Uys, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Notebeko Shezi, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Carel van der Merwe, 21 Jack Hart, 22 Liam Koen, 23 Connor Mahoney

Lions - 15 Guillermo Mentoe, 14 Keagan Smith, 13 Ethan Adams, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Latica Nela, 10 Matt Coetzee, 9 Haashim Pead, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Renzo du Plessis, 6 Thando Biyela, 5 Ruan Delport (captain), 4 Siba Qoma, 3 Ruan Swart, 2 Armand Combrinck, 1 Juan Schoeman

Replacements - 16 Mahle Sithole, 17 Siya Dube, 18 Beertjie van Vuuren, 19 Dylan Sjöblom, 20 JD Hattingh, 21 Asad Moos, 22 Exauce Kevani, 23 Luke Cannon

Morgan Piek OFM Sport