Centre Damian Markus will captain DHL Western Province U21 in their final league fixture of the season against Toyota Cheetahs U21 in Bloemfontein on Friday.

Markus leads a team which shows several changes for the encounter at Toyota Stadium, which kicks off at 15h00 on Friday.

The player rotation comes just before the play-offs, with DHL Western Province currently in third position on the standings and with a chance of securing a home semifinal, should results go their way this weekend.

JC Mars makes his return from injury at fullback, while wing Ezekiel Ngobeni, centre Ulrich Wahl and scrumhalf Asad Moos also come into the starting line-up.

In the forward pack No.8 Max du Pisani, lock Carel van der Merwe, hooker Armand Combrinck and prop Emihle Benya will all start having featured off the replacements bench last week, while Andre Goedhals moves from the second row to the loose trio.

This means that the likes of Paul de Villiers, Mhleli Khuzwayo, Imad Khan, Joel Leotlela and Joshua Boulle will all provide impact in the second half from the replacements bench.

Head Coach Johno van der Walt said that his team are looking to take some momentum into the play-offs with a strong performance in Bloemfontein.

“We want to ensure that we give a few key players some gametime ahead of the play-offs, but that won’t change our approach at all.

“We have some good talent and experience throughout the matchday squad and we want to give it everything on Friday,” he said.

DHL WP U21: 15 JC Mars, 14 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 13 Ulrich Wahl, 12 Damian Markus (captain), 11 Jared Africa, 10 Kyle Smith, 9 Asad Moos, 8 Max du Pisani, 7 Andre Goedhals, 6 Divan Fuller, 5 Carel van der Merwe, 4 Patric Kitete, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Armand Combrinck, 1 Emihle Benya.
Replacements: 16 Joshua Eras, 17 Wilbur Loubser, 18 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 19 Michael Mutombo, 20 Paul de Villiers, 21 Imad Khan, 22 Joel Leotlela, 23 Joshua Boulle.