Western Province will have considerably less pace when they tackle the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup semifinal at Newlands on Saturday, following the news that Springbok flyer Tonderai Chavhanga has been forced to undergo shoulder surgery.

The setback effectively ends Chavhanga's career at WP, as he will be joining up with the Golden Lions in November.

Chavhanga, one of the fastest wings in the country, may even miss the start of the Super 14 next year, leaving the Lions with a headache that has plagued Province and Stormers coaches for years - a never-ending list of injuries.

The good news for Province ahead of Saturday's semifinal is that the big Fijian wing Sireli Naqelevuki has recovered from his ankle injury and will be named in the team to face the Bulls.

With Gio Aplon available to replace Chavhanga, the disruption to the WP backline will be limited to the loss of pace through Chavhanga's absence.

While Naqelevuki's experience and physical presence adds plenty of value, his often lethargic and lackadaisical approach often puts his team under unnecessary pressure.

However, it means that Province coach Allister Coetzee will be able to keep Frikkie Welsh in the midfield, along with Juan de Jongh, and it will also allow Springbok Peter Grant to start at flyhalf - ahead of the inexperienced Australian Matt Toomua.

  • Meanwhile by mid afternoon Tuesday only a very small number of seated tickets and approximately 2000 standing room tickets remained available for the semifinal.

    Demand for tickets across all has been unprecedented - so much so that the systems crashed.

    365

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