Eastern Province Kings u21 came through really well in Nelspruit last week as they began their campaign against the Pumas. Robbie Kempson’s men secured maximum points in a game that was an even contest at halftime with Kings leading 24-20, the 2nd half however was all Kings as the men from Port Elizabeth scored 24 unanswered points to leave the final score at 48-20.
The men playing their 1st home game of the season will be hoping to continue their good run at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as they enjoyed a good set of results last season at home. Coach Robbie Kempson named a strong side to take on the Griffons tomorrow. The team has a few changes and sees 1 positional shift.
The Kings will face the Griffons with a completely new front row with Marzuq Maarman dropping out of the 22 man squad altogether, Vukile Sofisa who played a few games for the u21s last year comes in at loosehead in place of Maarman. Dane van der Westhuyzen, the usual captain and hooker sits out this week after a small operation on his hand, former Daniel Pienaarhooker Ruan Roberts comes into the no.2 jersey in Dane’s absence. Pieter Stemmet shifts to the bench making way for a man returning from senior team duty, Enoch Mnyaka. Mnyaka comes in to anchor the scrum at tighthead. The former Dale College boy is mobile and very prominent in loose play, he’s a strong ball carrier and well-conditioned. These are some of the aspects that have impressed the coaching staff at the Kings. He joins a few old Dalians in the side to take the school’s representation to 4 men. The rest of the forward pack is unchanged, with Kevin Kaba and Kuhle Sonkosi being retained as the 2nd row combination. The backrow is also unchanged with the men who did duty last week entrusted with their respective jerseys again.
There are a few changes in the backline, scrumhalf Bangi Kobese is rotated with Sonwabo Majola as they swap jerseys, with Bangi Kobese on the bench and Sonwabo Majola starting this week. Shane Gates will miss the game due to a concussion, Ace Jho moves 1 position inside to the no.12 position where he made a name for himself, Ace also takes over the captaincy in Dane’s absence. Lonwabo Ntleki’s selection at outside centre is a reunion of what was once the most feared centre combination in the Border region in their age group while both were at Dale College. Different time and different level now, but I can’t help but be excited at the prospect of watching these guys in action together again, they were poetry in motion as a combination.The last change in the backline is on the right wing where former Selborne College winger Ofentse Boloko comes in for young Sergeal Petersen who is out with an injury this week. Marlou van Niekerk, Eben Barnard and Siviwe Soyizwaphi all retain the jerseys they played in against the Pumas.
On the bench Yakha Qinela (older brother of u19 prop Similile) comes in to replace Ruan Roberts who’s elevated to the starting line-up. 2012 Kings u19 captain Stefan Zaayman also makes a return to the juniors after a few weeks with the senior Currie Cup side via the bench, replacing Sanwell Jacobs in the no.18 jersey. The bench includes 2 more changes as Aya Dlepu and Juan Smit replace Ofentse Boloko and Lonwabo Ntleki in the 21 and 22 jersey respectively.
I cornered injured captain Dane van der Westhuyzen for a quickword ahead of the game, he was very calm despite being unable to play as he gave us his thoughts, “It’s always tricky playing a team like the Griffons, because you never know what you’regonna come up against and against a side like ours they always seem to step up, but the boys have the talent and calmness to grind out a good result and hopefully the 5 points.”
All the best to Robbie, Stick and the boys, let’s hope they grind out the 5 points to stay ahead of the pack at this early stage and keep their good record in PE intact. Kings supporters, let’s rally behind the boys. Their match kicks off at 16:15 tomorrow as the curtain raiser for the senior game.
EP Kings u21:
15: Siviwe Soyizwapi (Dale College)
14: Ofentse Boloko (Selborne College)
13: Lonwabo Ntleki (KES)
12: Andile Jho (C) (Dale College)
11: Eben Barnard (Brandwag)
10: Marlou van Niekerk (Marlow Landbou)
09: Sonwabo Majola (Muir College)
08: Aidon Davis (Daniel Pienaar)
07: Claude Tshidibi (Potch Boys’ High School)
06: Siphesihle Punguzwa (Selborne College)
05: Kevin Kaba (Queen’s College)
04: Kuhle Sonkosi (Westering High School)
03: Enoch Mnyaka (Dale College)
02: Ruan Roberts (Daniel Pienaar)
01: Vukile Sofisa (Grey High School, PE)
RESERVES:
16. Yakha Qinela (Selborne College)
17 Pieter Stemmet (Paul Roos Gymnasium)
18: Stefan Zaayman (Framesby High School)
19: Wayvern Smith (Brandwag)
20: Bangi Kobese (Dale College)
21: Aya Dlepu (Hudson Park)
22: Juan Smit (Eldoraigne High School)
HEAD COACH: Robbie Kempson
ASSISTANT COACH: Mzwandile Stick
Ludumo Nkabi
No comments:
Post a Comment