Centre Damian de Allende will keep Springbok Juan de Jongh on the bench when Western Province meet the Golden Lions in the Currie Cup semifinal at Newlands on Saturday.
De Jongh, who has been struggling with a thigh strain, was given a medical all-clear for the match, but coachAllister Coetzee has opted to retain the strapping De Allende in the starting line-up.
It was the only mild surprise at the naming of the squad for the match, which is a repeat of last year's semifinal.
Jean de Villiers will move to outside centre and take over the vice-captaincy duties, with Deon Fourie retaining the captaincy.
"Juan came through nicely, but Damian has played well throughout the season and we felt we needed him for this match," Coetzee said.
"Today was the only full training session that Juan took part in this week, so, among other things, we felt it would be unfair to put pressure on him."
Coetzee is not normally a man to make predictions or to show anything other than the utmost respect for opponents, but yesterday he finally voiced what many are thinking.
"This match is ours to lose," Coetzee said. "I never want to be over-confident but we have had great preparation and we want to go out there and perform at our best to ensure we have a home final.
"We have all our key players back and the spine of our team is in place.
"Hooker Scarra Ntubeni is playing well, No8 Duane Vermeulen is on top of his game, flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis, inside centre De Allende and fullback Gio Aplon are all in form.
"With the class and leadership of Jean [De Villiers], Schalk Burger and Deon Fourie we are in good shape."
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