Fleck praises ‘professional’ DHL WP Under-21s
DHL Western Province Under-21 coach Robbie Fleck has praised the professional attitude of his young team, as they look to continue their season in the wake of the cardiac incident involving their teammate, hooker Daniel du Plessis.
Daniel Mills du Plessis suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday afternoon whilst playing for the DHL Western Province Under-21 team against the Leopards at DHL Newlands – which saw him being resuscitated on the field, before immediately being hospitalised.
After a steady improvement and excellent specialist care, Du Plessis came off the ventilator on Monday. He still has a recovery period ahead, but his steady improvement is a very positive sign for a full recovery.
And speaking ahead of his team’s clash against the Sharks U21s in Durban this Saturday (kick-off 14h45), Fleck told the www.wprugby.com website: “It’s been an emotional week for us all – as coaches and players – but we were all lifted by Monday’s news that Duppies was making such a good recovery.
“It was a very tough start to a game week, so Monday was not about training but about chatting to the guys and ensuring that everyone was okay (from a mental point of view).
“Duppies is a very popular team man… he is our friend and it affected every one of us, but we were overjoyed with the news of his recovery. Our major focus is all about supporting Duppies and his family as he continues to recover, but the players have been very professional in their approach throughout and also once training began (again) this week.”
Having thus far won seven out of eight matches in 2015, which sees them top the Absa Provincial Under-21 log by six points (ahead of the second-placed Lions), Fleck admitted: “The incident has certainly taught us all that there is a lot more to life than winning or losing on a rugby field, but we are aware of the challenge at hand in Durban.
“The Sharks beat us in the rain at City Park back in Week One. They put us under set-piece pressure that day and afterwards we sat down and took a hard look at ourselves – at our goals and our standards. I think we’ve improved quite a bit in all aspects of our game (since then), but, crucially, this team has matured a lot in that time too.
“Our mantra all season has been about improving consistently as a group and I think we’re doing that and continually evolving our style of play.”
In team news for this week, Fleck has restored SA Under-20 star Khanyo Ngcukana to the starting line-up – with Sibahle Maxwane dropping back to the bench – at right-wing. Up front, Kobus van Dyk moves from lock to No.8 (as Devon Nash drops to the bench), with No.5 lock David Ribbans and tighthead prop Frans van Wyk both back in the starting XV.
On the bench, meanwhile, Martin Wipplinger takes over from Du Plessis as the hooker reserve, livewire flanker Christo van der Merwe is back from injury and Jarryd Sage takes over from Ryan Oosthuizen in the No.21 shirt.
The DHL WP Under-21 team for Saturday (v Sharks, away) is as follows:
15. Grant Hermanus
14. Khanyo Ngcukana
13. EW Viljoen
12. Ryno Eksteen (vice-captain)
11. Leolin Zas
10. Brandon Thomson
9. Justin Phillips
8. Kobus van Dyk
7. Jacques Vermeulen
6. Luke Stringer
5. David Ribbans
4. Johannes Momsen (captain)
3. Frans van Wyk
2. Chad Solomon
1. Wesley Adonis
Replacements:
16. Martin Wipplinger
17. Liam Hendricks
18. Devon Nash
19. Christo van der Merwe
20. SP Ferreira
21. Jarryd Sage
22. Sibahle Maxwane
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
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