George Whitehead will lead Griquas in their Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked opener against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus on Saturday.

Griquas coach Scott Mathie has selected a bunch of stalwarts for the trip to Pretoria, most notably the inclusion of former Brumbies player James Verity-Amm on the left wing.

Mathie has provisionally named an extended 11-man bench, with three players set to be omitted on game day as teams are only allowed to play with squads of 23.

Former Springbok wing Bjorn Basson and Alandre van Rooyen, who moved to Kimberley from Port Elizabeth recently following the liquidation of the Southern Kings, are among the replacements.

Griquas will be hoping for a repeat of their last excursion to Loftus, in the 2019 Currie Cup, when they upset the Bulls 37-15.

Griquas – 15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 Andre Swarts, 11 James Verity-Amm, 10 George Whitehead (c), 9 Zak Burger, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Carl Els, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Ian Groenewald, 3 John-Roy Jenkinson, 2 HJ Luus, 1 Mox Mxoli.
Subs: 16 Alandre van Rooyen, 17 Bandisa Ndlovu, 18 Madot Mabokela, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Zandre Jordaan, 21 Gideon van der Merwe, 22 Ashlon Davids, 23 Berton Klaasen, 24 Mzwanele Zito, 25 Johan Momsen, 26 Bjorn Basson.

Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images