Vermeulen bolsters DHL WP U21

Aug 18 • General News • 1763 Views • Comments Off on Vermeulen bolsters DHL WP U21

DHL Western Province U21 have been bolstered by the inclusion of loose forward Jacques Vermeulen for their clash with the Toyota Free State Cheetahs U21 at DHL Newlands on Friday.

Vermeulen comes down from the senior DHL Western Province side and will take his place at flank in the only change to the team that drew their opening fixture against the Vodacom Blue Bulls U21 a fortnight ago.

Vermeulen will play blindside flank, with captain Luke Stringer at openside in place of Rikus Bothma, who has been ruled out with a toe injury.

The only other change to the match-day squad sees lock Christo van der Merwe take his place on the replacements bench.

DHL Western Province U21 coach Jerome Paarwater said that the bye week gave his team valuable time to gel as a unit ahead of what should be a testing encounter.

“It was great to have a week to work together and develop as a team, and the players are excited to be playing their first game this season at DHL Newlands.

“The Toyota Free State Cheetahs are always a tough side, so we will need to be at our best,” he said.

Paarwater added that he was pleased to be able to keep some continuity in selection, with the addition of Vermeulen a major boost as well.

“It is important that these players make a step up from where we were in our opening game two weeks ago, with Rikus Bothma out due to a broken toe it is great to be able to call on a quality player like Jacques Vermeulen to take his place,” he said.

DHL Western Province U21: 15 Grant Hermanus, 14 Duncan Saal, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Ryan Oosthuizen, 11 Sibahle Maxwane, 10 Dennis Cox, 9 Justin Phillips, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Luke Stringer (captain), 5 David Ribbans, 4 Eduard Zandberg, 3 Frans van Wyk, 2 Percy Mngadi, 1 Kyle Whyte.
Replacements: 16 Hanno Snyman, 17 Michael Kumbirai, 18 Gary Porter, 19 Christo van der Merwe, 20 Herschel Jantjies, 21 Eduaan Keyter, 22 Tiaan Swanepoel.