Confident DHL WP U19s head to Potchefstroom

Aug 6 • General News • 1574 Views • Comments Off on Confident DHL WP U19s head to Potchefstroom

A confident DHL Western Province Under-19 team will travel to Potchefstroom to take on the giant-killing Leopards U19s at Profert Olën Park on Saturday (kick-off 12h10).

DHL Western Province recorded a deserved 32-27 win over the Lions in Cape Town last weekend, whilst the Leopards earned a dramatic 40-37 win over the Sharks in Durban in their Absa Provincial Under-19 fixture.

“The Leopards,” said DHL WP Under-19 coach Nazeem Adams, “are a team that doesn’t mind conceding tries… but they back themselves to score more than you.
“They’re a strong attacking team and they’re very tough to beat at home.”
Province, of course, are feeling confident after their superb first-half performance last weekend, but coach Adams has challenged his charges to play for the entire 70 minutes.
He told the www.wprugby.com website: “Watching our video this week was great – we were exceptional in the first half (when we led 27-3), but the challenge, now, is to play for the full 70.
“I honestly think that we will be difficult to beat if we play to our full potential, it’s something I have always said, and it’s something we spoke about and worked on this week.”
Adams has made a few changes to his line-up for this week, with half of the changes down to injury and the other with an eye on rotation.
Winger Duncan Saal, lock Eduard Zandberg and prop Ruben Terblanche are out with injuries, whilst fullback Tiaan Swanepoel and hooker Ruan Brits have been handed starts and Mervano da Silva returns from his one-game suspension for foul play.
“It was obviously important to front up last week after our defeat to the EP Kings the week before,” said Adams.
“However, as I said before last week’s game we needed some continuity in our game and that was most pleasing for me. I have challenged the guys to take it up a notch this week and I would like to see us move that step closer to a perfect 70-minute performance.”
The DHL WP Under-19 team for Saturday (v Leopards, away) is as follows:
15. Tiaan Swanepoel
14. Gerard Pieterse
13. Eduan Keyter
12. Edrich Venter
11. Edwill van der Merwe
10. Aidynn Cupido
9. Paul de Wet
8. Jaco Coetzee (captain)
7. Saud Abrahams
6. Mervano da Silva
5. Gary Porter
4. Jaco Willemse
3. Michael Kumbirai
2. Ruan Brits
1. Edward Marais
Replacements:
16. Percy Mngadi
17. Adriaan Geldenhuys
18. Jerome Korf
19. Human Bodenstein
20. Daniel Maree
21. Herschel Jantjies
22. Justin Heunis
23. Kurt-Lee Arendse
Referee: Vusi Msibi