Well-travelled hardman Willie Engelbrecht will lead the Airlink Pumas out in this year’s Currie Cup campaign.
Engelbrecht, who joined the Pumas in 2017 and has already played 70 games for the team, also went on loan to the Stormers last season and played 10 games for them in that time.
But he has returned to a side that includes Eddie Fouche, who is back from loan to the Lions as the Pumas look to do better than their fifth-place finish last season.
To get them into the competition, the Pumas may have lost four players to the Lions, but they made a host of signings to bolster their ranks ahead of the domestic competition.
They signed Njabulo Gumede from the Valke and Simon Raw, who represented UCT in last season’s Varsity Cup competition.
After signing Thinus de Beer to give them more depth at flyhalf, the Pumas also signed utility back Herschelle Goodman, who can also play at 10 when needed.
Former Boland midfielder Andries Viljoen has also joined the team for the Currie Cup campaign.
The Pumas face the Vodacom Bulls this Friday in their opening game in the competition in Nelspruit.