There are three changes to the DHL Western Province forward pack for the Carling Currie Cup clash with the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The backline that started against the Vodacom Bulls last week remains unchanged for the encounter with the defending champions, which kicks off at 13h55 on Saturday at Toyota Stadium.

Hendre Stassen and Paul de Villiers both start on the flank, having featured off the replacements bench last week, while Connor Evans moves to the second row in place of the injured Adre Smith.

The only changes among the replacements see flank CJ Velleman joined by Andre-Hugo Venter, who will be covering loose forward this weekend.

Director of Rugby John Dobson said that he expects a sharper performance in what should be vastly different conditions.

“We were disappointed with aspects of our game last week, but it should be quite a lot drier in Bloemfontein on Saturday which will definitely suit our game and we will definitely be better off with that match under our belts as there was no ‘pre-season’ for this group heading into the competition.

“We have kept continuity in selection and are excited to see what the likes of Hendre and Paul can add from the start, while it is also great to have a player of Andre-Hugo’s quality in the mix as well.

“We know that it will take a much-improved performance to get the result we are looking for, but it has been a constructive week and we have confidence in our plan so we should be in for an entertaining match against the Toyota Cheetahs,” he said.

DHL Western Province: 15 Luke Burger, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Willie Engelbrecht (captain), 7 Hendre Stassen, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Connor Evans, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Corne Weilbach, 19 Andre-Hugo Venter, 20 CJ Velleman, 21 Louw Nel, 22 Labib Kannemeyer, 23 Damian Markus.