Eastern Province Under-19 team will be aiming to finish off the first round of the ABSA Under-19 competition in style by keeping their unbeaten record when they clash with the Sharks at Kingspark in Durban on Saturday.
As they reach the halfway stage of the competition, Eastern Province is topping the log on 21 points, 6 points ahead of their closest rivals, the Bulls.
The home side will be no easy walk in the park in Durban, eventhough a 17-all draw against the Cheetahs has been their best result, EP needs to perform at their best as all the pressure will be on them to keep a clean sheet at the halfway mark.
Their performance last week will have them in a positive frame of mind as they had to come from behind to defeat the Lions 28 - 19.
Without any individual stars, coaches Mzwandile Stick and Wayne van Heerden, as well as manager Robbi Kempson, have moulded a bunch of young players into a side who have developed a self-belief which has helped them through the testing moments.
As coach Stick said before the Lions game: "The boys are playing for each other and that is making a big difference to this team."
They know the Sharks will come out firing on Saturday and that there will be no easy path to victory in Durban. If they do stay unbeaten, they will be able to take a good deal of satisfaction into their mid-season break.
Meanwhile the Eastern Province Under-21 side is still looking to pick up their first win of the season.
They came close against the Bulls three weeks ago when they trailed 6 - 7 at half-time, but a strong second half performance from the Bulls secured a 39 - 21 win in the end. All that momentum was however lost when they went down to the Lions last weekend 14 - 73.
The players received some expert tuition from former Bok prop Balie Swart this week and if they can show some sort of stability up front, it could translate into better fortunes allround.
The side welcomes back captain Kevin Kaba and his influence could be crucial to improve their standing in the competition. A late injury setback however has forced flyhalf Malcolm Jaer out of Saturday's match, he will be replaced by MC Venter in the starting XV, while Anelisa Mteto will replace Venter on the bench.
EP U19:
15 Michael Brink 14 Athi Mayinje 13 Yamkela Nyalambisa 12 Jeremy Ward 11 Dominik Uytenbogaardt 10 Jordan Koekemoer 9 James Hall 8 Junior Pokomela 7 Hayden Tharratt 6 SF Nieuwoudt 5 Lusanda Badiyana 4 Robert Lyons 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen 2 Thango Balekile 1 Matthew Howes
Replacements:
16 Masikane Mazwi 17 Xandre Vos 18 Michael van Breda 19 Wihan Coetzer 20 Jason Lizamore 21 Davron Cameron 22 Rivan Lemmer 23 Avelo Jubase
EP U21:
15 Warren Swarts 14 Lindelwe Zungu 13 Somila Jho 12 Riaan Esterhuizen 11 Khaya Malotana 10 MC Venter 9 Sibusiso Ngcokvane 8 Kevin Kaba 7 Tyler Paul 6 Henry Brown 5 Jan Uys 4 Gerrit Huisamen 3 Thembelihle Yase 2 JP Jamieson 1 David Murray
Replacements:
16 Jedwyn Harty 17 James Beyl 18 Jason Reinecke 19 Wynand Grasman 20 Luvo Claasen 21 Anelisa Mteto 22 Mihlali Nchukana
As they reach the halfway stage of the competition, Eastern Province is topping the log on 21 points, 6 points ahead of their closest rivals, the Bulls.
The home side will be no easy walk in the park in Durban, eventhough a 17-all draw against the Cheetahs has been their best result, EP needs to perform at their best as all the pressure will be on them to keep a clean sheet at the halfway mark.
Their performance last week will have them in a positive frame of mind as they had to come from behind to defeat the Lions 28 - 19.
Without any individual stars, coaches Mzwandile Stick and Wayne van Heerden, as well as manager Robbi Kempson, have moulded a bunch of young players into a side who have developed a self-belief which has helped them through the testing moments.
As coach Stick said before the Lions game: "The boys are playing for each other and that is making a big difference to this team."
They know the Sharks will come out firing on Saturday and that there will be no easy path to victory in Durban. If they do stay unbeaten, they will be able to take a good deal of satisfaction into their mid-season break.
Meanwhile the Eastern Province Under-21 side is still looking to pick up their first win of the season.
They came close against the Bulls three weeks ago when they trailed 6 - 7 at half-time, but a strong second half performance from the Bulls secured a 39 - 21 win in the end. All that momentum was however lost when they went down to the Lions last weekend 14 - 73.
The players received some expert tuition from former Bok prop Balie Swart this week and if they can show some sort of stability up front, it could translate into better fortunes allround.
The side welcomes back captain Kevin Kaba and his influence could be crucial to improve their standing in the competition. A late injury setback however has forced flyhalf Malcolm Jaer out of Saturday's match, he will be replaced by MC Venter in the starting XV, while Anelisa Mteto will replace Venter on the bench.
EP U19:
15 Michael Brink 14 Athi Mayinje 13 Yamkela Nyalambisa 12 Jeremy Ward 11 Dominik Uytenbogaardt 10 Jordan Koekemoer 9 James Hall 8 Junior Pokomela 7 Hayden Tharratt 6 SF Nieuwoudt 5 Lusanda Badiyana 4 Robert Lyons 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen 2 Thango Balekile 1 Matthew Howes
Replacements:
16 Masikane Mazwi 17 Xandre Vos 18 Michael van Breda 19 Wihan Coetzer 20 Jason Lizamore 21 Davron Cameron 22 Rivan Lemmer 23 Avelo Jubase
EP U21:
15 Warren Swarts 14 Lindelwe Zungu 13 Somila Jho 12 Riaan Esterhuizen 11 Khaya Malotana 10 MC Venter 9 Sibusiso Ngcokvane 8 Kevin Kaba 7 Tyler Paul 6 Henry Brown 5 Jan Uys 4 Gerrit Huisamen 3 Thembelihle Yase 2 JP Jamieson 1 David Murray
Replacements:
16 Jedwyn Harty 17 James Beyl 18 Jason Reinecke 19 Wynand Grasman 20 Luvo Claasen 21 Anelisa Mteto 22 Mihlali Nchukana
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