Junior Springbok captain Norton to make Western Province debut
Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton, who lifted the World Rugby U20 Championship trophy less than a month ago, will make his senior debut for Western Province in their Currie Cup clash against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 2pm).
The 19-year-old Norton, who played at lock for the SA U20s, will start at blindside flank for Province, while his fellow Junior Bok teammate Gino Cupido also comes into the side at outside centre.
The Cape side has been decimated by injuries over the past few weeks, and has had to make a number of changes to their side, including losing captain Zain Davids, with Gideon van Wyk coming in for him at openside flank, while Louw Nel stays at eighthman to round out the back three of the pack.
Lock Gary Porter takes over the captaincy from Davids and features in an unchanged tight five, while hooker Luca Bakkes and loose forward Enos Ndiao come onto the replacements bench.\
Backline
In the backline, Joel Leotlela is on the left wing and will link up with Sevens stars Shilton van Wyk and Tristan Leyds in a speedy back three, while Cupido will partner Damian Markus in midfield.
Head Coach Labeeb Levy said that his team is fully focused on producing an 80-minute performance in Bloemfontein, especially with the team struggling at the bottom of the Currie Cup table with no wins and no points from their opening three games.
'We have got some incredibly talented players coming in this week and they are surrounded by a settled core who are ready to raise the standards in every area.
'Travelling to Bloemfontein is always a big challenge, but it is one we are embracing. We will need to be on our game from the first to the last whistle to get the result we need,' he said.
Western Province XV
Tristan Leyds, Shilton van Wyk, Gino Cupido, Damian Markus, Joel Leotlela, Jurie Matthee, Asad Moos, Louw Nel, Riley Norton, Gideon van Wyk, Gary Porter (c), Alex Groves, Zachary Porthen, Scarra Ntubeni, Mhleli Khuzwayo.
Bench: Luca Bakkes, Oliver Reid, Herman Lubbe, Adam de Waal, Enos Ndiao, Ezekiel Ngobeni, Luke Burger, Jared Africa.
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