DHL WP Under-19s focusing on the positives

Sep 10 • General News • 2626 Views • Comments Off on DHL WP Under-19s focusing on the positives

DHL Western Province Under-19 head coach Nazeem Adams will continue to focus on the positives, as his charges head to Durban to take on the Sharks in Absa Provincial Under-19 action on Saturday (kick-off 13h00).

The DHL WP U19s have lost just two matches this season – both away from home – but their two most recent victories have been by just two points and one point, respectively, despite holding commanding half-time leads in both games.

Coach Adams, however, said: “On Monday we had an in-depth chat about these close wins, but, for me, it’s about focusing on the positives as opposed to the negatives.

“Don’t get me wrong, we’re not denying that we have some aspects of our game to address, but it’s important not to dwell on the negatives when there are a lot of positives.

“In both those matches, against the Cheetahs and the Leopards, we had played some outstanding rugby to build big leads and I remain convinced that if we can replicate those first-half performances (in the second half) then not many teams will be able to live with us.”

Whilst the DHL WP U19s look to improve their second-half performances, they will be up against a desperate Sharks team that is yet to win a game in 2015 – despite drawing to Free State and picking up two losing bonus points.

Adams told the www.wprugby.com website: “Yes, the Sharks are struggling a bit, but they ran us close at City Park back in Week One and. Also, they have nothing to lose (in terms of semifinal qualification), so that makes them very dangerous opponents.

“For us, however, we will continue to focus on our own game and performance and try and fix where we have been going wrong of late. We have this game, then the Bulls at home next week, before a bye and then two more games before the play-offs, so momentum remains crucial at this stage of the season.”

Centres Eduan Keyter and Edrich Venter are back in the mix this week, after missing last week’s Leopards clash, whilst, up front, Jacques van Zyl will start in the No.2 jersey and WP Rugby Academy star Brenton Greaves comes on to the bench as hooker cover.

“Percy (Mngadi) is still out with an ankle injury and Ruan (Brits) also hurt his ankle last week, so you could say we’ve got a bit of an injury crisis at hooker,” said Adams.

“(But) luckily both Jacques and Brenton have always been part of the greater squad and at training so I have no worries at all about the two of them stepping in.

“Aside from Percy and Ruan being out, we are not too badly off in terms of injuries. (Flanker) Mervano da Silva should be back in action next week and Saud Abrahams is on the bench again this week as we continue to bring him back gradually after his injury.”

The DHL WP Under-19 team for Saturday (v Sharks, away) is as follows:

15. Tiaan Swanepoel
14. Duncan Saal
13. Eduan Keyter
12. Edrich Venter (vice-captain)
11. Edwill van der Merwe
10. Aidynn Cupido
9. Paul de Wet
8. Jaco Coetzee (captain)
7. Daniel Maree
6. Mitchell Carstens
5. Eduard Zandberg
4. Jaco Willemse
3. Michael Kumbirai
2. Jacques van Zyl
1. Ruben Terblanche
Replacements:
16. Brenton Greaves
17. Derrick Marais
18. Jerome Korf
19. Gary Porter
20. Saud Abrahams
21. Herschel Jantjies
22. Justin Heunis
23. Kurt-Lee Arendse
Referee: Sindile Ngcese