The Eastern Province Kings u19s will go into their match against Limpopo Blue Bulls on the back of a 3 match losing streak. Ryan Felix’s men lost narrowly to the table topping Valke u19s by 41 point to 39 last week. The Kings currently lie 4th on the table with Valke the clear no.1 side with 34 points followed by Boland and SWD in 2nd and 3rd position respectively.
The men from Port Elizabeth are still in a semi-final spot and will need to win today to end 3rd on the log. The Limpopo men are 2nd from the bottom and would need to win by a considerable margin and deny the Kings a bonus point in order to qualify for the play-offs. The team has a few changes this week with a 1 promotion to the u21 side and a couple of injuries.
The front row is unchanged from last week as David Murray continues at loosehead prop, the St Andrew’s scholar enjoyed a good game last week in the 41-39 loss and he gets another opportunity to impress in the no.1 jersey. JP Jamieson will continue in the hooking berth while captain of the side Matthew Moore will start at tighthead. The 2nd row is also unchanged with Gerrit Huisamen and Stefan Ebersohn continuing to grow as a combination. While the same tight 5 is retained, there is 1 change in the loose forwards, the robust Grey schoolboy Bathandwa Cafu comes in at no.6 to assume that openside role vacated by Kevin Kaba (promoted to u21s). The big man made his debut off the bench last week and I have no doubt he will be looking forward to his 1st start at this level. Tyler will continue on the blindside flank and providing an extra lineout option in the back row. Erwin Slabbert remains the only member of the back row who’s been starting the entire campaign and will once again run out in the no.8 jersey.
The backline has a few injury enforced changes, with Francois Nel back in the no.9 jersey, he replaces Alex Banfield who played at flyhalf last week. Alex Banfield is sick this week and will sit out this game. Jason Baggott, last week’s starting scrumhalf, shifts 1 out to assume the pivot mantle; as the St Andrew’s scrumhalf is capable of slotting in at flyhalf. Juandre Fourie is on the left wing again this week, with his power and pace; they’ll look to get the ball to him as often as possible. Luan Niewoudt gets another opportunity at 12 after having a good debut last week, however his fellow schoolboy centre partner Selvyn Davids (another impressive debutant last week) is out with a knock to his knee. Sherwin Slater slots into the no.13 jersey in Selvyn’s absence. Luca Dalla-Vecchia comes onto the right wing for Khanya Mzilikazi as he is also out with an injury, Luca made his debut for the u19 side in round 3 off the bench and will get his 1st starting opportunity. The safe, reliable and composed figure of Khaya Malotana in the no.15 jersey will be prominent yet again this week, another player who’s been a constant in the back 3 the entire campaign.
There are a few changes on the bench, with a few players promoted to the run on side, a few bench spots were vacant, JH Schmitt will deputise for JP at hooker on the bench. Similile Qinela also covers loosehead. Sokhana Mpemba is back in the 23 man squad and will look to bring a lot of grunt in the tight-loose exchanges as the game opens up in the 2nd half. Dewald Meyer who celebrated his 19th birthday earlier this week will also look to make an impact later on in the game. Roger Louis is back in the 23 as he covers scrumhalf from the bench. Francois van der Walt comes into the 22 jersey for Slater who starts at 13 while the nimble footed Wayburn Howley comes back into the 23 for the 1st time since round one. Big tighthead prop Divan Nell rounds up the bench for the u19s.
I cornered Captain Matthew Moore for a quick word ahead of the game, the big tighthead said, “Captain’s went well yesterday, it’s going to be a big one, they have a big pack of forwards, but I have no doubt that we can match them up front. Our backs are very good and any good ball they get, I know they work well with.” He went on to add a few inspirational words, “Everything’s going to start in front, we must make the 1st big hits and not allow them to do it 1st, I believe in every player in the team. We can win the 1st Division u19 Currie Cup!”
Good luck to Ryan, Rory and the boys as they take on this tough away fixture, the match will be played at Grobersdal at 2pm
EP Kings u19:
15: Khaya Malotana (Queen’s College)
14: Luca Dalla-Vecchia (Grey High School, PE)
13: Sherwin Slater (Andrew Rabie High School)
12: Luan Niewoudt (Nico Malan)
11: Juandre Fourie (Marlow Landbou)
10: Jason Baggott (St Andrew’s College)
09: Francois Nel (Daniel Pienaar)
08: Erwin Slabbert (Framesby High School)
07: Tyler Paul (St Andrew’s College)
06: Bathandwa Cafu (Grey High School, PE)
05: Gerrit Huisamen (Grey High School, PE)
04: Stefan Ebersohn (Grey High School, PE)
03: Matthew Moore (Brandwag)
02: JP Jamieson (Grey High School, PE)
01: David Murray (St Andrew’s College)
Reserves:
16: John Henry Schmitt (Oudtshoorn High School)
17: Similile Qinela (Selborne College
18: Sokhana Mpemba (Queen’s College)
19: Dewald Meyer (Otto du Plessis)
20: Roger Louis (Cillie High School)
21: Wayburn Howley (Despatch)
22: Francois van der Walt (Grey High School, PE)
23: Divan Nell (Otto du Plessis)
ASSISTANT COACH: Rory Duncan
Ludumo Nkabi - follow on twitter @ludz19
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