Lions beat EP in U13 Craven Week opener

Eastern Province faced Bidvest Golden Lions in their opener of this year's U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week at Hoërskool Rob Ferreira in White River. 

The Golden Lions started their clash against Eastern Province with a bang as Regardt Fourie crossed the tryline in the second minute to take a 5-0 lead. But Eastern Province did well to string together phases on attack and hit back with a try of their own in the 18th minute compliments of Lathita Nqebe. The Lions, however, cancelled this out with their second try before half time to take a 10-5 lead at the break.

The second half was hard-fought as the teams ran hard at each other. Such was the closeness of the half the Lions were only able to add a penalty to their score, while Eastern Province's Nqebe crossed the tryline for the second time, which allowed them to come within a point of the Lions on the scoreboard. The Johannesburg team, however, held on in the dying minutes to secure a 13-12 victory.

Eastern Province's second match will be on Tuesday (30 June) against the Leopards. The Leopards went down to Boland in their opener,15 - 20.

Scorers:

Eastern Province (5) 12 – Tries: Lathita Nqebe (2). Conversion: Daniel Smith.

Golden Lions (10) 13 – Tries: Denis Balt, Regardt Fourie. Penalty: Sebastine Watney.

U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-one results:

Pumas 21 - 7 KwaZulu-Natal

Western Province 24 - 19 Valke

Limpopo Blue Bulls 7 - 29 Border

Boland 20 - 15 Leopards

Blue Bulls 40 - 0 Zimbabwe

Eastern Province 12 - 13 Golden Lions

Griquas 7 - 12 Namibia

Free State 0 - 19 SWD

Griffons 16 - 22 Border CD

U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-two fixtures, Tuesday 30 June 2015:

A Field:

08h30 - Griffons vs Namibia                            

09h30 - Valke vs Blue Bulls                               

10h30 - Golden Lions vs SWD                          

11h30 - KZN vs Boland                                      

12h30 - Border vs WP

B Field:

08h30 - Griquas vs Zimbabwe

09h30 - Free State vs Limpopo Blue Bulls

10h30 - Border CD vs Pumas

Exciting additions to Currie Cup squad

The Eastern Province Kings have announced two exciting additions to their squad for the 2015 Currie Cup season.

Robust loose forward, Jacques Engelbrecht will make a welcomed return to the Kings squad. Engelbrecht who is currently contracted to the Bulls until 2016 will be on loan to the Kings for the next four months.

Engelbrecht who is no stranger to the Kings set-up joined in 2011 from the Eagles, and made 24 appearances in the EP jersey over two seasons. In 2013 Engelbrecht formed a formidable loose-trio along side Wimpie van der Walt and Cornell du Preez for the Southern Kings in their first Super Rugby season.

After the Southern Kings failed to retain their spot for the 2014 Super Rugby season, Engelbrecht formed part of a max exodus of players and joined the Blue Bulls.    

"Jacques was a familiar face in our ranks, both for the EP Kings and the Southern Kings, and we are looking forward to having him back for our Currie Cup campaign."  

“We believe he will add a great deal to our squad during this important time for rugby in the province,” said EP Rugby CEO Charl Crous.

The Kings also confirmed the signing of Griquas and Cheetahs thighthead prop Maks van Dyk until the end of the 2016 season. Van Dyk also had a short spell with Irish club Leinster where he made one appearance in 2014 during the off-season.

"We welcomed Jacques and Maks into the Kings family earlier today (Wednesday) at our player and management workshop.” 

"We look forward to working with them going forward and getting to know them better," said newly appointed Kings head coach Brent Janse van Rensburg.

The Kings have started with their pre-Currie Cup training, and will have their first outing against the Sharks on the 11th of July, followed by the Bulls on the 17th and Western Province on the 25th, ahead of their ABSA Currie Cup opener against the Golden Lions on the 8th of August.

EP Kings appoint new Currie Cup coach

The Eastern Province Kings have announced that former NMMU Madibaz coach, Brent Janse van Rensburg, has been appointed as head coach for the EP Kings Currie Cup campaign.

“Brent is a top calibre coach, having earned his stripes in the school system and at the NMMU Madibaz, and we are confident that he will play a significant role in our preparations going forward,” said EP Kings CEO Charl Crous.

"He is familiar with operations at the Kings and we are sure he will be able to bring the best out in the team for the Currie Cup campaign."

Janse van Rensburg will be assisted by Carlos Spencer (backline and skills coach), Darron Nell (lineout and forwards coach) and CJ van der Linde, who is still playing but will assist in the scrummaging department.

Janse van Rensburg who took over as head coach at NMMU in 2011 took the Madibaz to two consecutive Varsity Cup semi-finals in 2013 and 2014 before he joined Grey High School as Director of Rugby. 

Earlier this year he joined the Lions as the u19 forwards coach before he was released from his contract due to personal reasons. He returned to Nelson Mandela Bay where he subsequently joined the Kings as Head of Defence during their Vodacom Cup campaign.

Janse van Rensburg will take up his new position with immediate effect, as the Kings are currently preparing for their Currie Cup friendlies against the Sharks, Bulls and Western Province ahead of their opener against the Lions on the 8th of August.

Kings player included in Sevens Academy side

EP Kings fullback Siviwe Soyizwapi has been included in the SARU Sevens Academy squad to travel to an invitational Sevens tournament in Italy and Switzerland later this year. 

The team was selected after a round of gruelling trials in Stellenbosch and, according to the coach, the trials again showed the high quality of players in the South African structures.

"The trials highlighted the skills and abilities of the next tier of players. These guys are all showing massive potential to graduate into the national team and some of them will even push for places in the Olympic Games in Rio next year," Schoeman said.

Included in this squad are regular Springbok Sevens squad members, Ruhan Nel and Carel du Preez. Du Preez and Nel both made their Springbok Sevens debut during the recent 2014/15 HSBC Sevens World Series after being called up for national duty from the Academy ranks.

"We have had an eye on certain players for a while now, and it is pleasing that they were available for selection. I would like to thank the various unions who allowed them to train and now play with us. I think the Academy pathway has worked for our national team as well, as guys like Ruhan and Carel clearly showed this year, as well as others like Kwagga Smith and Werner Kok before them."

The Roma tournament will be played on 12 and 13 June at the Acqua Acetosa Stadium. The South Africans won the tournament in 2013 and 2014.

The team then will travel to Switzerland, where the Geneva Sevens will be contested at the Centre Sportif du Bout du Monde on 19-20 June.

SARU Sevens Academy:

1 Carel du Preez

2 Ruhan Nel

3 Sandile Ngcobo 

4 Lungelo Gosa

5 Sibahle Maxwane

6 Vincent Maruping

7 Dylan Sage

8 TJ Goddard

9 Tyler Fisher

10 Siviwe Soyizwapi

11 Riaan Esterhuizen

12 Daniel Maartens

Non traveling reserves:

Thabo Mabuza, Joel Booysen.

Convincing win to end disappointing campaign

The Eastern Province Kings ended their Vodacom Cup campaign on a high when they beat the Sharks XV at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday night.

In retrospect the convincing 23 – 8 victory came somewhat a day too late and a few log points short as they ended fifth on the South Section log, three log points behind the forth played SWD Eagles.

Dispite the score being 8 all at the break, the Kings added a further two tries and a penalty in the second half to score 15 unanswered points.

The Kings were first to put points on the board through a Hansie Graaff penalty, after they set up camp in the Sharks’ 22 during the opening minutes.

The Sharks drew level a few minutes later after Garth April added a penalty to bring the score to 3 all after fifteen minutes.

Kings’ Luther Obi scored the first try after Sharks’ Paul Jordaan was send to the sin bin for deliberately slowing the ball down in the red zone. Graaff missed the touch line conversion as the Kings took an 8 – 3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Minutes later Sharks’ Hanco Venter crossed the line to draw level, April missed the touch line conversion. Scores remained 8 all until half-time.

The second half started pretty much the same as the first half when Kings’ eighthman Paul Schoeman scored his team’s second try after 6 minutes. Graaff missed his second kick of the night as the Kings took a 13 – 8 lead.

Replacement flyhalf, Scott van Breda was on target with his first attempt at a penalty kick as he stretched the Kings’ lead to 16 – 8 with ten minutes to go.

Replacement scrumhalf Enrico Acker scored the Kings’ third try after a high kick ended up in no man’s land. The loose ball was kicked through which resulted in a five-pointer for the home team, van Breda added the extras as the Kings took a 23 – 8 lead with five minutes remaining.

No further points were added to the score board as the Kings recorded their third win of their Vodacom Cup campaign.

The Kings scored 181 points and conceded 162 in their seven matches which included three wins. They scored the second most tries, 26, two less then the Free State Cheetahs who are on 28, and conceded 18 tries.

Scorers:

EP Kings: (8) 23 – Tries: Luther Obi, Paul Schoeman, Enrico Acker. Conversion: Scott van Breda. Penalty: Hansie Graaff.

Sharks XV: (8) 8 – Try: Henco Venter. Penalty: Garth April.

Junior Springboks off to a winning start

The Junior Springboks recorded a 25 - 22 win in the first of two matches against the Los Pumitas in Santa Fe Argentina on Tuesday evening.

The Junior Boks scored a converted try and a penalty in the first half as they trailed by five points at the break, 10 - 15.

Eastern Province's Micheal Jear scored the Junior Boks' first half try, followed by two second half tries by Grant Hermanus and Dan du Preez. Ernst Stapelberg converted two of the tries and added a penalty in each half.

“We had a long journey coming here, had only one full training session and a bus trip of more than two hours to the stadium today," said a relieved Junior Springbok coach, Dawie Theron.

"I told the players this match would be a huge test of character for them and Argentina did exactly what we expected, making it extremely difficult for us to play our normal game. They were strong upfront and tackled as if their lives depended on it,” explained Theron.

Theron admitted his harsh words during halftime had the desired effect on his players in the second half.

“We were much more composed and calm and that allowed us to eventually fight our way back successfully. I’m pleased with the effort and the character of the guys, but we now also know the areas where we must work on for the next match,” added Theron.

The next match will be in Rosaria on Saturday.

Scorers:

Argentina Under-20: (15) 22 - Tries: Christian Bartolini, Jose Deheza, Emiliano Bofelli. Conversions: Bofelli (2). Penalty: Bofelli.

Junior Springboks: (10) 25 - Tries: Michael Jaer, Grant Hermanus, Dan du Preez. Conversions: Ernst Stapelberg (2). Penalties: Stapelberg (2).

Watson ruled out for Sharks match

There have been some late changes to the Eastern Province Kings side to face the Sharks XV in their final Vodacom Cup match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Friday evening.

Luke Watson who was set to make his return to the starting XV has been ruled out with flu. Tim Whitehead will take over the captaincy from Watson against his former team.

Other late changes sees Paul Schoeman replace Tim Agaba at eighthman, who also suffers from flu. Tazz Fuzani comes in at lock to replace Stefan Willemse who moves to the openside flank. Thembelani Bholi moves from the openside flank to blindside to cover for Watson. 

The only other change is in the front row where CJ van der Linde comes in for Simon Kerrod, who failed a fitness test.

Kick-off is at 7pm.  

EP Kings:

15 Siviwe Soqizwapi 14 Siyanda Grey 13 Ronnie Cooke 12 Tim Whitehead (c) 11 Luther Obi 10 Hansie Graaff 9 Jaco Grobler 8 Paul Schoeman 7 Stefan Willemse 6 Thembelani Bholi 5 Cornell Hess 4 Tazz Fuzani 3 CJ van der Linde 2 Edgar Marutlulle (vc) 1 Lizo Gqoboka

Replacements:

16 Mike van Vuuren 17 Enoch Mnyaka 18 David Bulbring 19 Eital Bredenkamp 20 Eniro Acker 21 Sphu Msutwana 22 Scott van Breda  

Watson to lead Kings against Sharks

The Eastern Province Kings have made slight changes to their side which thrashed Boland 44 - 10, as they are set to face the Sharks XV in their last Vodacom Cup match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday night.

The Kings who are fifth on the South Section log scored 25 unanswered points against the Cavaliers in the second half after they led 19 - 10 at the break. The Sharks who are sixth on the log, might just go into this game as the "underdogs" as they went down 24 - 27 to Griquas in their penultimate match of this year's competition.

In the backline, Siyanda Grey moves from outside centre to right wing as he replaces Sphu Msutwana who moves to the bench. Former Sharks centre, Tim Whitehead replaces Ronnie Cooke at inside centre, as Cooke shiftes to outside to replace Grey.

Amongst the loose forwards, Tim Agaba replaces Aidon Davis at eighthman and Luke Watson who returns as captain replaces Eital Bredenkamp on the flank.

Kick-off is at 7pm.  

EP Kings:

15 Siviwe Soqizwapi 14 Siyanda Grey 13 Ronnie Cooke 12 Tim Whitehead 11 Luther Obi 10 Hansie Graaff 9 Jaco Grobler 8 Tim Agaba 7 Thembelani Bholi 6 Luke Watson (capt) 5 Cornell Hess 4 Stefan Willemse 3 Simon Kerrod/Enoch Mnyaka 2 Edgar Marutlulle 1 Lizo Gqoboka

Replacements:

16 Mike van Vuuren 17 Albe de Swardt 18 CJ van der Linde 19 David Bulbring 20 Paul Schoeman 21 Eniro Acker 22 Sphu Msutwana 23 Scott van Breda

CJ has his hopes set on World Cup

Madibaz vice-captain CJ Velleman will be winging his way to Argentina this week for the Junior Springboks’ warm-up tour ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy in June.

 

Velleman will be hoping to make an impression during the two-match series in Rosario from May 8 to 16 in an effort to earn his spot in the final squad for world champs.

 

The open-side flanker had a stellar start to the season with consistent performances in the FNB Varsity Cup tournament, which earned him the runner-up spot in the overall Player that Rocks competition.

 

Velleman was then invited to the national trials in Stellenbosch in March, after which he was one of 37 players asked to return for a second training camp in April.

 

The quantity-surveying student was also part of the squad that beat the Varsity Cup Dream Team 31-24 in a friendly encounter last month.

 

“I was really excited but at the same time pretty nervous because it's an unbelievable opportunity and you only get one chance to not mess it up,” said Velleman.

 

“It was one of my proudest moments being able to pull the Bok jersey over my head.

 

“I hope to remain a permanent fixture in the squad, but for now I am just aiming to make it to the final 28 for the World Cup,” said Velleman.

 

After the South American tour, the young forward will join the Eastern Province under-21 side for the Currie Cup season.

 

“If it's anything like last year's under-19 division then it's going to be a really exciting time.”

 

The 20-year-old said he had had a rugby ball in his hands since he could remember and hadplayed the sport throughout his school year.

 

“Every rugby player’s dream is to run out for the Boks one day but for now I just want to focus on doing my best to secure my spot in the baby Bok touring squad.

 

“I would also like to advance as far as I can within the Kings system with the hopes of getting a senior cap before leaving the academy.”

Kings restore some pride against Boland

Pride was the only thing left to play for when the Eastern Province Kings travelled to Citrusdal to face the Boland Cavaliers at the Central Sports Grounds on Saturday.

Both teams are out of the running to qualify for a top spot in this year's Vodacom Cup Competition as the Kings are fifth on the South Section log, seven points behind fourth placed SWD with a single round remaining. Boland will remain seventh as it is unlickely that they will lose to bottom of the log Border when they face each other in their remaining fixture. 

The Kings scored three first half tries, two by eighthman Aidon Davis and a third by fullback Siviwe Soyizwapi. Hansie Graaff converted two of the tries.

Boland's Granville Adams missed two earlier attempts at goal, but the fullback eventually crossed the line in the twentieth minute as he scored his team's first points. Adams converted the try and with a successful penalty late in the first half they trailed by nine points, 10 - 19, at the halftime break.

The Kings dominated the second half as they scored twenty five unanswered points, which included four tries, one conversion and a penalty.

Graaff extended the Kings' score to 22 - 10 after he kicked a successful penalty early in the second half. A few minutes later blindside flank, Eital Bredenkamp, scored his team's bonus point try, Graaff missed the conversion as the Kings took a 27 - 10 lead.

Five minutes later Graaff scored and converted a try of his own as he stretched the Kings' lead to 34 - 10 as the game reached the final quarter.

Davies scored his hat-trick three minutes later, Graaff missed the conversion as the Kings took a 39 - 10 lead. Replacement scrumhalf, Dylon Frylinck scored his team's seventh and final try. Graaff was unsuccessfull with the conversion as the game ended 44 - 10.

The Kings will face the Sharks XV at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in their final match on Friday.

Scorers:

Boland Cavaliers (10) 10 - Try: Granville Adams. Conversion: Granville Adams. Penalty: Granville Adams. 

EP Kings (19) 44 - Tries: Aidon Davis (3), Siviwe Soyizwapi, Hansie Graaff, Eital Bredenkamp, Dylon Frylinck. Conversions: Hansie Graaff (3). Penalty: Hansie Graaff