Sango Xamlashe has been backed to captain Griquas in the Currie Cup final against the Pumas in Kimberley on Saturday after Niel Otto was ruled out of the match.

Xamlashe, who led the University of Pretoria to the 2021 Varsity Cup title, will take over the captaincy on Saturday as Otto failed a concussion test.

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Griquas coach Pieter Bergh named a relatively settled starting lineup, which has been boosted by the return to fitness of experienced scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer.

Ungerer will be playing in his final game for Griquas as he is contracted to join the Stormers next season.

After coming off the bench early in the semi-final against the Bulls, George Whitehead will start at fullback in place of the injured Ashlon Davids.

There are a couple of changes to the pack as Werner Gouws takes Otto’s place in the No 6 jersey, while lock Cameron Lindsay will add further timber to the tight five.

On the bench, Griquas have welcomed back the experience of veteran hooker Simon Westraadt following a concussion lay-off. The 36-year-old will be facing his former team on Saturday.

Griquas – 15 George Whitehead, 14 Munier Hartzenberg, 13 Sango Xamlashe (c), 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Luther Obi, 10 Zander du Plessis, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Siba Qoma, 7 Hanru Sirgel, 6 Werner Gouws, 5 Derik Pretorius, 4 Cameron Lindsay, 3 Janu Botha, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Kudwai Dube.
Subs: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Andries Schutte, 19 Johan Retief, 20 Michael Amiras, 21 Johan Mulder, 22 Fiela Boshoff, 23 Chris Hollis.

Photo: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images