Coach Phiwe Nomlomo is expecting a fierce battle at the Cape Town Stadium against the old foe Western Province on Saturday.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls have a tough assignment, travelling to the Mother City for their Currie Cup opener.

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But Nomlomo says while he’s expecting some butterflies from his youthful squad, he’s also expecting them to settle quite quickly.

“The players have trained well,” said Nomlomo.

“It’s full-on excitement at the minute. There’s a really great vibe in the team, but there will be nerves. I’m not really a nervous guy. I’ll embrace what comes, when it comes.”

Nomlomo says they’re not looking too deeply into WP’s performance last year, where they ended the campaign seventh with just three wins from their 10 matches.

“We think there’ll be a fair bit of a crowd to be honest, so they’ll have good support. They’ll be full of grit and they’ve got a good mixture. They’ve got under-21’s, club players, varsity players so I think they’ll be full of really good energy. So we have to be really well prepared for that.”

The 23-man squad for the weekend appears rich with promise, led by breakdown fiend Nama Xaba, who will have experienced players like Marvin Orie, Zak Burger, Jeandre Rudolph to call on.

2025 CURRIE CUP SQUADS: Young stars set to shine

The seven debutants are Shaun Schurmann, Jean Erasmus, Jaco Grobbelaar,  Dylan de Leeuw, Steven Nel, PA van Niekerk and Marco Ferreira.

Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images

YOUR team to face DHL Western Province on Saturday for the first round of the Carling Currie Cup 🏆

⏰KICK-OFF: 17:10
📍DHL STADIUM @Vodacom | @TheCurrieCup #UNCENSORED pic.twitter.com/q0UJKWexGD

— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) July 24, 2025