Eastern Province Kings coach Carlos Spencer has made several changes for their match against the Free State Cheetahs in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Tim Whitehead suffered a calf strain in last week's clash against the Blue Bulls, which sees Ronnie Cooke shift from wing to outside centre. Siyanda Grey (back from illness) is on the right wing, Ntabeni Dukisa gets a start on the left wing, and Siviwe Soyizwapi replaces Scott van Breda at fullback.

'We only wanted to make one change to the backline, but Tim's calf strain meant we had to shuffle a few positions,' Spencer said. 'We have also replaced Scott van Breda with Shakes Soyizwapi at fullback, but I do not want to go into the reasons for that in the media.'

Van Breda, whose goal-kicking duties will be taken over by flyhalf Gary van Aswegen, is on the bench.

Among the forwards, hooker Edgar Marutlulle and lock David Bulbring are out with injuries and have been replaced by Martin Ferreira and Darron Nell respectively. In another change, Tom Botha returns to the front row, with CJ van der Linde on the bench.

'That's a decision from [forwards coach] Shaun [Sowerby] and I back it all the way,' Spencer said of Van der Linde's relegation. 'Tom's a really good workhorse and having had a week off, it's good to give him a chance.'

EP Kings – 15 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 14 Siyanda Grey, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Ntabeni Dukisa, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Kevin Luiters, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Devin Oosthuizen, 6 Shaun McDonald, 5 Darron Nell, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Subs: 16 Albe de Swardt, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Steven Cummins, 19 Stefan Willemse, 20 Tobie Botes, 21 Dwayne Jenner, 22 Scott van Breda.

Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images