The Peacock Blues travel first up with an away match against the Sharks XV.

Coertzen leads the side with the flanker RJ Liebenberg still side-lined after suffering an epileptic fit last month.

The match was originally scheduled for Friday, but will now be a curtain raiser for the Sharks Super Rugby clash against the Melbourne Rebels.

The team's coach, Peter Engeldow, told OFM Sport that they are looking forward to taking to the park in their first official match of the season.

“It’s a difficult first fixture away from home, but we had our preseason camp in Durban.

“We experienced both conditions. A hot and dry day and a hot, windy and humid day - so we’re prepared for both.

“We’re obviously still in the process of developing and working on our game but we think that we’ve done well in the last five months.

“We’ve got a great group of players and there’s a great belief and vibe within the group.

“Our preseason went very well, we played four and won four”.

Saturday’s match at Kings’ Park in Durban kicks off at 17:00. At 15:00 the Griffons host the Leopards in Welkom, while the Toyota Free State XV enjoy a first round bye.

Griquas - 15 AJ Coertzen (captain), 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Tertius Kruger, 12 Jonathan Francke, 11 Koch Marx, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Christian Meyer, 8 Jason Fraser, 7 Sias Koen, 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 Pieter van Vuuren, 4 Jono van Rensburg, 3 Kop van der Westhuizen, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Liam Hendricks.

Replacements – 16 Marius Fourie, 17 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 18 FP Pelser, 19 De Wet Kruger, 20 Renier Botha, 21 André Swarts, 22 Enver Brandt.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport