The beleaguered Welwitschias face their toughest challenge of the season when they take on log leaders Griquas at the Hage Geingob Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The two sides meet from opposing ends on the log, with the Griquas unbeaten after five matches while the Welwitschias are bottom of the log, having lost all five their matches to date.
The Welwitschias’ debut in the Currie Cup qualifying competition has been tough going as they have conceded 224 points at an average of more than 40 per match, while only scoring an average of 14 points per match.
Welwitschias coach John Williams has rung the changes for Saturday’s match, bringing in six new players in the starting 15 and two more on the bench.
Namibia’s experienced World Cup campaigner Tinus du Plessis is back in the team, having recently returned from England where he played for London Scottish and Williams said his presence would be a big boost.
“Tinus is back and he’s been training with us for the past two weeks. He’s a quality player and he will make a positive contribution in the defence and attack as well as in the set pieces. I am playing him at lock so that we can have an extra loose forward option, ” he said.
Williams has brought in another World Cup player in Heinrich Smit, who replaces Shawn Kaizemi at fly half, in a clear attempt to play a more expansive game.
Smit, a regular centre, is expected to play a more attacking game, but Kaizemi’s absence could leave the Welwitschias a bit thin in the kicking department, with neither Smit nor fullback Johann Tromp being a regular kicker.
In other changes in the backline, Phillip Nashikaku comes in at wing for Russell van Wyk while Arthur Bouwer replaces JC Winkler at scrum half.
Amongst the forwards, Herman Krause comes in at flank for Joe Hermann, while Callie Swanepoel replaces Gerhard Lotter at hooker.
Williams said they were under no illusions about the task at hand and expected a tough match.
“Griquas are a quality side and top of the log so we are expecting a tough match. From the start we knew it would be difficult to qualify for the Currie Cup, so our aim has been to grow from game to game and to reach the small goals that we have set ourselves. I think we are doing that our line outs and scrums are better and the players’ physicality is better, ” he said.
“We are trying to bring new players in every week and the aim is to get our Premier League players used to this pace and higher level of play, ” he added.
The Welwitschias have struggled in the set pieces and especially the scrums where the heavier South African packs have pushed them back at will, while their defence normally a hallmark of their game has let them down this season, as Williams acknowledged.
“Our one on one tackling has not been up to standard and we are working on that, but our structures are improving and we have scored some good tries that we worked on during training, ” he said.
Another aspect that they will have to improve upon is their poor handling, which has led to several try scoring opportunities going astray due to knock ons or poor passes. With players like the impressive Johann Tromp and the pacey Phillip Nashikaku in the backline they certainly have the potential to score tries if they can receive enough clean possession.
But they can expect a tough afternoon, against a well drilled side that includes experienced backs like wing Alshaun Bock and captain and centre Jonathan Francke, and upcoming forwards like eighthman Jason Fraser and flanker Sias Koen.
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The teams are as follows:
Welwitschias:
Shaun du Preez, Gerhard Lotter, AJ de Klerk, Muniovita Kasiringua, Tinus du Plessis, Rohan Kitshoff (captain), Herman Krause, Leneve Damens, Arthur Bouwer, Heinrich Smit, Phillip Nashikaku, Francois Wiese, Darryl de la Harpe, Lesley Klim and Johann Tromp.
Substitutes:
Hauta Veii, Quintin Esterhuizen, Denzil van Wyk, Zane Groenewaldt, JC Winkler, Justin Nel and Riaan van Zyl.
Griquas:
Steph Roberts, Marius Fourie, Stephan Kotze, Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, David Antonites, Wendal Wehr, Sias Koen, Jason Fraser, Tiaan Dorfling, Ntabeni Dukisa, Alshaun Bock, Jonathan Francke (captain), Kyle Lombard, AJ Coertzen, Gouws Prinsloo.
Substitutes:
