Marco de Witt will captain the team from the flank, while his co-captain, George Whitehead, will play off the bench in what will be the team’s first official match of the year.

The young Tylor Sefoor will start at flyhalf, with Bobby Alexander providing service in the number nine jersey.

Whitehead hasn’t played since the third minute of their 2024 Currie Cup campaign when he broke his ankle. While he is fit again, the team is cautious about rushing the veteran backline marshal back into action.

George Whitehead. Photo: Morgan Piek

Up front, the explosive hooker Gustav du Rand earns a rare start, as the Griquas are thin in that position at the moment. At this stage, they only have Du Rand and Dandré Delport available to don the number two jersey. Regular starter Janco Uys is still in the process of recovering from injury.

Coach Pieter Bergh told OFM Sport that while Whitehead is highly experienced, he is not quite ready yet, and this is an ideal opportunity for Sefoor to grow into the role.

“Our plan throughout the SA Cup will be to give opportunities to players,” said Bergh.

“I don’t think it’s a horses-for-courses approach or a tactical decision, really. George is coming off a big injury, and we’ve only played one warm-up match.

“So, the plan is to phase him in. He’s not as sharp as he was before the injury, and I feel that, at his age, the best way to reintegrate him is to bring him off the bench first. On the other hand, this gives Tyler a good run.

“For the first two to three weeks we’ll follow this approach and then reassess. But Tyler needs to know that he has the backing of the coaches and that he’s going to start a few games for us.

“He’s obviously a talented youngster and a Junior Springbok. He played a really good game in our warm-up match against the Griffons, so we’re looking forward to giving him this opportunity. He’s the future flyhalf for us, and we see him as a long-term project. The sooner we get him in the mix, the better.”

Albert Liebenberg. Photo: Morgan Piek

Meanwhile, on the bench, the Griquas will field two debutant props in Corné Lavagna and Corné Weilbach who will make their first appearance for the team when they come on in the latter stages of the game.

Saturday’s game between the Leopards and the Peacock Blues at Olën Park kicks off at 15:00.

Leopards - TBA

Griquas - 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mbomo Zwelendaba, 11 Connor Mahoney, 10 Tylor Sefoor, 9 Bobby Alexander, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Carl Els, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Athi Khetani, 3 Cebo Dlamini, 2 Gustav Erlank, 1 Eddie Davids

Replacements - 16 Dandré Delport, 17 Corné Lavagna, 18 Corné Weilbach, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Thabo Ndimande, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 George Whitehead, 23 Tertius Kruger

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg