SA Schools teams named for U19 series openers

Aug 11 • General News, SA Schools, SA Schools Team, School • 4061 Views • Comments Off on SA Schools teams named for U19 series openers

SA Schools coach Lance Sendin and SA Schools A coach Sean Erasmus on Thursday named their teams for the opening round of the Under-19 International Series at City Park Stadium in Crawford, Cape Town, on Friday.

The SA Schools team will face Wales at 15h00 and the SA Schools A team takes on Italy at 13h30. In the other fixture England and France clash at 12h00. All three matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport 1 (channel 201).

With the bulk of the 26-man SA Schools squad being made up of DHL Western Province players, who took top honours in the U18 Coca-Cola Craven Week for the second successive year, Sendin had the luxury of selecting a few settled player combinations.

The DHL Western Province loose trio of Charl Serdyn, Muller Uys and Khanya Ncusane will form a solid looseforward combination, while their provincial counterparts, fullback Gianni Lombard and wing Mike Mavovana, will also form a key combination at the back along with left wing Sihle Njezula from Eastern Province.

The front-row pairing of Bidvest Golden Lions prop Nathan McBeth and hooker PJ Botha, who will pack down with Eastern Province Country Districts prop Sazi Sandi, will also be vital against the Welsh pack.

“Given the limited time to prepare for the tournament, it was important to select a few settled player combinations, while at the same time trying to name the strongest possible team,” said Sendin.

“Unfortunately a few players had flu this week and had to be managed, which also influenced our team selection. That said, we would like to give the players on the bench a good run as well in the match.”

Commenting on the threat posed by Wales, Sendin said: “Wales have come all the way to South Africa and they will be determined to win. The fact that they have played together before will certainly give them confidence. Their rush defence is very good and they have a strong pack of forwards, so they will look to dominate up front, and we are expecting them to use their rolling maul often, so we have to be wary of that.”

Erasmus also selected a few settled combinations in his starting team to face Italy, with Enrista Blue Bulls fullback Abner van Reenen, wing Austin Davids and captain and centre Louritz Van der Schyff joining forces. In the front row, the familiarity between Sharks hooker Dylan Richardson and prop Gugu Nelani will add stability in the front row.

“We selected a team we thought we would be best suited to way we plan to play against Italy,” said Erasmus.

“We are expecting a physical onslaught from them in the first 20 minutes and a free-flowing game in general. They are a passionate nation and that will certainly show in the way they play, so this will be a tough test for us.”

With the U19 International Series serving as a platform to expose young players to top-class rugby from a young age, all six teams have been allowed to name match-day squads of 26 players. However, only eight replacements may be used on the day.

SA Schools team to face Wales:

Nr	Name	Province
15	Gianni Lombard	DHL Western Province
14	Mike Mavovana	DHL Western Province
13	Wandisile Simelane	Bidvest Golden Lions
12	Rikus Pretorius	Bizhub Free State
11	Sihle Njezula	Eastern Province
10	Damian Willemse	DHL Western Province
9	Rewan Kruger	Bizhub Free State
8	Khanya Ncusane	DHL Western Province
7	Muller Uys	DHL Western Province
6	Charl Serdyn	DHL Western Province
5	PJ Steenkamp	Enrista Blue Bulls
4	Salmaan Moerat (captain)	DHL Western Province
3	Sazi Sandi	Eastern Province CD
2	PJ Botha	Bidvest Golden Lions
1	Nathan McBeth	Bidvest Golden Lions
Replacements
16	Daniel Jooste	DHL Western Province
17	Reece Bezuidenhout	DHL Western Province
18	Johan Neethling	DHL Western Province
19	Ben-Jason Dixon	DHL Western Province
20	JC Pretorius	Pumas
21	Richman Gora	Thepa Trading Griffons
22	Ruan de Swardt	Enrista Blue Bulls
23	Manuel Rass	DHL Western Province
24	Muller du Plessis	DHL Western Province
25	Emilio Adonis	Enrista Blue Bulls
26	Khwezi Mafu	Eastern Province

SA Schools A team to face Italy:

Nr	Name	Province
15	Abner van Reenen	Enrista Blue Bulls
14	Austin Davids	Enrista Blue Bulls
13	Louritz Van der Schyff (captain)	Enrista Blue Bulls
12	Sicelo Tole	Eastern Province
11	Cameron Hufke	GWK Griquas
10	Lubabalo Dobela	Eastern Province
9	Sanele Nohamba	Sharks
8	Jessie Johnson	DHL Western Province
7	Mark Snyman	Bidvest Golden Lions
6	Athi Magwala	DHL Western Province
5	Christopher Havenga	Bidvest Golden Lions
4	Jaco van Tonder	Bizhub Free State
3	Mornay Smith	Enrista Blue Bulls
2	Dylan Richardson	Sharks
1	Gugu Nelani	Sharks
Replacements
16	Schalk Erasmus	Enrista Blue Bulls
17	Cabous Eloff	Enrista Blue Bulls
18	Keagan Glade	Bidvest Golden Lions
19	Juan van der Mescht	Sharks
20	Ryno Pieterse	Enrista Blue Bulls
21	Dian Schoonees	Bizhub Free State
22	Zinedine Booysen	SWD Eagles
23	Tyrone Green	Bidvest Golden Lions
24	Tadendaishe Mujawo	Bidvest Golden Lions
25	Janco van Heyningen	Bizhub Free State
26	Ayabonga Oliphant	Eastern Province