There are four new faces in the DHL Western Province starting line-up for the Carling Currie Cup encounter with the Fidelity ADT Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.

There are two changes to the backline and two in the forward pack, with one positional switch for the clash at Ellis Park, which kicks off at 15h00 on Saturday.

The changes in the backline come on both wings, with Sako Makata and Jared Africa both backed to start, while Junior Springbok and Sevens star Gino Cupido comes onto the replacements bench.

Up front former Junior Springbok captain Zachary Porthen starts at tighthead prop and in the loose trio Louw Nel moves to the back of the scrum, while Gideon van Wyk starts at blindside flank.

Head Coach Labeeb Levy said that it will require a step-up in performance to get the first win of the campaign in Johannesburg.

“We have made some changes, but looked to keep most of the combinations from our opening match so that the players can build an understanding and synergy.

“We saw some promising signs in the second half of our first game and it will require a big lift in standards to take that forward against a competitive Fidelity ADT Lions side on Saturday,” he said.

DHL Western Province: 15 Shilton van Wyk, 14 Sako Makata, 13 Luke Burger, 12 Damian Markus, 11 Jared Africa, 10 Kyle Smith, 9 Asad Moos, 8 Louw Nel, 7 Gideon van Wyk, 6 Zain Davids (captain), 5 Gary Porter, 4 Alex Groves, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 18 Arno Gustafson, 19 Andre Goedhals, 20 Erhard Lambrecht, 21 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 22 Gino Cupido, 23 Tristan Leyds.