Lock Sebastian Ferreira will take over the captaincy of the DHL Western Province Under-19 team for this weekend’s clash against the Leopards Under-19s in Potchefstroom.
Ferreira will wear the No.4 jersey on Friday (kick-off 14h30), with Sebastian Negri wearing the No.5 shirt in the absence of regular skipper Jan Uys who is sitting out after a concussion scare.
“We’re being very cautious with Jan,” WP U19 coach Nazeem Adams told www.wprugby.com, “we don’t want to put him at risk, so we’ve sent him for scans and will ensure he is 100% before he rejoins the team again this season.
“I have plenty of faith in Sebastian as a leader and we’re lucky to call upon his experience and playing ability in the absence of Jan.”
The enforced changes at lock – and the captaincy – are the only changes to the WP line-up that beat the Free State Cheetahs 22-5 in Stellenbosch last week, with Ramone Samuels – an 11th hour replacement ahead of last weekend’s clash – once again starting at No.8 and schoolboys Jarryd Sage (pictured, above) and Dewald Naude continuing at centre and wing, respectively.
“Ramone, as we know, started the year at hooker for us, but he did a great job for us at No.8 last week – making big hits and putting us on the front foot with ball in hand,” said Adams. “He’s a good player and we’re also fortunate to have (loose forward) Steven Meiring back in the 23 this week.”
The DHL WP Under-19s will take on the Leopards U19s at Profert Olën Park in a crucial clash, the Men from Potchefstroom having won the previous encounter between these two teams in Cape Town in late July.
As things stand now, WP – in fifth place on the Provincial Under-19 log – have now won two matches this season, with the Leopards three points ahead of them on the overall standings.
Coach Adams said: “For us, it’s not about revenge – it’s simply about coming away with four or five log points and, in the process, denying the Leopards the points.
“A win for the Leopards would virtually ensure them a place in the semifinals, at our expense, so we desperately want the victory to keep our play-off hopes alive.
“We certainly know a bit more about the Leopards this time (around), but they remain a good side and a tough side at home. We need to ensure we don’t repeat our first-round mistakes (against them), otherwise we could find ourselves out of semifinal contention.”
The DHL Western Province Under-19 team to take on the Leopards is as follows:
15. Jason Worrall
14. Dewald Naude
13. Jarryd Sage
12. Michal Haznar
11. Dalen Goliath
10. Chris Smith
9. Pieter Schoonraad
8. Ramone Samuels
7. Luke van der Smit
6. Ruan Rossouw
5. Sebastian Negri
4. Sebastian Ferreira (captain)
3. Liam Hendricks
2. Chad Solomon
1. Wesley Adonis
Replacements:
16. Gareth Ehret
17. Michael van Tonder
18. Nathan Gogela
19. Attie van Rensburg
20. Steven Meiring
21. SP Ferreira
22. Jonty Bredell
23. Jason Morris
Referee: Lihan Pretorius
