Former South Africa under-21 tighthead prop Pat Barnard has been drafted into the Western Province starting line-up for Saturday's Currie Cup semifinal against Free State at Newlands.

Barnard's selection is part of a front-row revamp, with Eddie Andrews shifting to loosehead prop and Daan Human dropping down to the reserves bench. Coach Carel du Plessis has also made a change at hooker, with David Britz replacing Pieter Dixon. In the only other change to the side that drew 36-all with the Blue Bulls, captain Neil de Kock returns at scrumhalf in place of Bolla Conradie, who is out for the rest of the season after sustaining a fracture to a hand.

De Kock was, however, due for a fitness test later on Wednesday as he had missed the Bulls clash with a shoulder injury. Flyhalf Werner Greeff, a strong contender to be picked for South Africa's tour of Britain and Argentina, will be playing his 50th match for WP.

Commenting on the selection, Du Plessis said: "Tactically this is a good XV with good cover off the bench." The teams met a few weeks ago with WP beating the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. However, Du Plessis cautioned against reading anything into the result. "We weren't happy with our performance there. The key thing is our execution in what we do. There is nothing for us to be complacent about," he said.

The WP team is: Gaffie du Toit, Breyton Paulse, Marius Joubert, De Wet Barry, Jean de Villiers, Werner Greeff, Neil de Kock (capt), Adri Badenhorst, Joe van Niekerk, Schalk Burger, Rob Linde, Quinton Davids, Pat Barnard, David Britz, Eddie Andrews. Replacements: Pieter Dixon, Daan Human, Johan van Zyl, David Hendricks, Tertius Carse, Gus Theron, Egon Seconds.