Last week, the Griquas kicked off their campaign with a commanding 64-7 victory over the Leopards, while the Valke secured a 41-30 win against Eastern Province in Kempton Park.

The Peacock Blues have made eight changes to their starting XV – three in the backline and five in the pack.

Tertius Kruger will start at inside centre for his 50th Griquas cap, while Gurswin Wehr makes his debut on the left wing, and Thomas Bursey gets the nod at scrumhalf.

Carl Els. Photo: Morgan Piek

Among the forwards, Carl Els starts at eighth man, Thabo Ndimande comes in at flank, Dylan Sjöblom will play in the second row, Corné Weillbach starts at tighthead prop, and Corné Lavagna takes up the loosehead prop position. These changes are part of the Griquas’ rotation policy rather than injury-enforced selections.

Experienced co-captain George Whitehead will once again feature off the bench as he continues his gradual return to play following a long injury lay-off.

Griquas forwards coach Franco van der Merwe told OFM Sport that while they were pleased with their performance against the Leopards, there were still areas that needed attention. “Yes, I think it was a good start for us, considering it was a five-month pre-season. It was great just to get going,” said Van der Merwe.

“There are definitely a few things we still need to work on, and some details to sort out. The Leopards played against the Griffons before facing us, so their preparation was quite different.

“They had a strong start in the first 15 minutes, and I think that was a bit of a wake-up call for us. But the guys showed a lot of guts and passion in that early defensive set. From there, we settled into the game and managed to put up a good score by the end.”

‘They’re a big, physical team’

The former Springbok and Lions lock added that the Valke would present a serious challenge up front, and the Griquas would need to step up physically.

“We analysed last year’s game against them, and the three tries they scored all came against our pack – whether through a maul drive, a pick-and-go, or just overpowering us close to the try line.

“They’re a different beast, and they’re well-coached. They’ve had consistency been with the same management and players for a few years now. They’re a big, physical team.

Thomas Bursey. Photo: Morgan Piek

“So we need to be ready for the battle up front this weekend, and we’re hoping to bring it to them.”

Saturday’s match at Suzuki Stadium in Kimberley kicks off at 15:00.

Griquas – 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 Tylor Sefoor, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Carl Els, 7 Marco de Witt (captain), 6 Thabo Ndimande, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Dylan Sjöblom, 3 Corné Weillbach, 2 Dandré Delport, 1 Corné Lavagna

Replacements – 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Cebo Dlamini, 19 Athenkosi Khetani, 20 Stephan Smit, 21 Bobby Alexander, 22 George Whitehead, 23 Mnombo Zwelendaba.

Valke – 15 Sergio Stalmeester, 14 Valentino Wellman, 13 Musa Tshabalala, 12 Zeilinga Strydom, 11 Adrian Joubert, 10 Keagan Fortune, 9 Wernich Aucamp, 8 Abulele Ndabambi, 7 Godfrey Muzanargwo, 6 Zander van der Merwe, 5 Andrew Volschenk (captain), 4 Mihlali Stamper, 3 Thabo Ntunja, 2 Pierre Rabie, 1 Kayden Kiewit

Replacements – 16 Joshua Eras, 17 Lindokuhle Seteni, 18 Blaine Golden, 19 Philip Apea-Adu, 20 Zingisa April, 21 Kelvin Kanenungo, 22 Luciano Elias, 23 Waqar Solaan

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg