The Eastern Province U19 and U21 sides travel to Bloemfontein this Saturday for their respective Currie Cup Premier Division openers.
Outside centre Jeremy Ward will captain the U19 side, while flanker CJ Velleman captains the newly promoted U21 side.
EP U19 team manager Robbi Kempson said this season was a golden opportunity for the teams to compare themselves with the best sides in the country.
"This is also our chance to develop the base of our players at the EP Kings going forward," Kempson said. "We have invested hugely in our local talent, with 95 per cent of our teams coming from players in the Eastern Cape region."
After a strenuous build-up to the season, EP U19 captain Jeremy Ward said they could not wait to get on to the field for the opening match, while acknowledging that they faced a tough challenge in Bloemfontein.
"We know there are no easy games in Bloemfontein, but we are ready to embrace that challenge," Ward said this week.
"We are ready for anything which comes our way and the team is looking forward to getting on to the field."
"After a lengthy time in preparations, the guys are fired up for this game and we are itching to get on to the field to play. There's a very good spirit in the side because a lot of the players know each other well, and for the guys who have not played before, there is great excitement at pulling on the EP jersey."
Velleman, who captained the NMMU Madibaz in this year's Varsity cup and who was part of the wider U20 Springboks squad ahead of the Junior World Cup starts on the flank, while Malcolm Jaer who played for the Springboks at the Junior World Cup starts at fullback for the U21s.
Eastern Province U19:
15 Mabhutana Peter 14 Yamkela Nyalambisa 13 Jeremy Ward (captain) 12 Michael Brink 11 Athi Mayinje 10 Garrick Mattheus 9 James Hall 8 Junior Pokomela 7 Lusanda Badiyana (vice-captain) 6 SF Nieuwoudt 5 Wihan Coetzer 4 Robert Lyons 3 Roche van Zyl 2 Masikane Mazwi 1 Nicolaas Oosthuizen
Replacements:
16 Thango Balekile 17 Xandre Vos 18 Keegan Branford 19 Mihlali Mosi 20 Hayden Tharratt 21 Sibusiso Ngcokavane 22 Avelo Jubase 23 Dominik Uytenbogaardt
Easter Province U21:
15 Malcolm Jaer 14 Mihlali Nchukana 13 Somila Jho 12 Luan Nieuwoudt 11 Lindelwe Zungu 10 Simon Bolze 9 Franswa Ueckermann 8 Wynand Grasmann 7 Henry Brown 6 CJ Velleman (captain) 5 Jan Uys 4 Gerrit Huisamen 3 Stefan van Schalkwyk 2 JP Jamieson 1David Murray
Replacements:
16 Jedwyn Harty 17 Mathew Moore 18 Tyler Paul 19 Elandre van der Merwe 20 Luvo Claasen 21 Warren Swarts 22 Jaquis Oosthuizen
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