DHL Western Province Under-21 coach John Dobson has announced his team to face the Golden Lions at DHL Newlands on Saturday (kick-off 16h45).
Fresh from his team’s bonus-point clinching 31-17 win over Border last Saturday, Dobson has been forced into a few changes – due to injuries and senior team call-ups – ahead of what he has termed a crucial match.
“We’ve been disrupted a bit, losing Damian de Allende again to the senior team and with an injury-worry or two, but we’re lucky to (still) call upon two SA Under-20 players in Kobus van Wyk and Pat Howard,” said Dobson.
“The Lions are a much better team than their results would suggest and they’ll be keen to set the record straight after we beat them in the first round.
“Our team has changed a bit since that first Lions match, losing Scarra Ntubeni, Wilhelm van der Sluys, Mikey van der Spuy and Damian… so this will be a challenging game and a crucial one at that. We would dearly love a home semifinal, and we’re just three points behind the Sharks (in second place), so we need to keep the pressure on them with a win.”
With last week’s match – against Border – having been played at City Park, Dobson and his charges are looking forward to making a return to DHL Newlands this Saturday; their first game there since early last month.
“Hopefully the weather will play ball too,” added the DHL WP U21 coach. “Last week’s conditions tested us in all facets, yet we still got the bonus point, so we’re hoping for some better weather back at DHL Newlands.”
The DHL Western Province Under-21 team to take on the Lions is as follows:
15. Dillyn Leyds
14. Patrick Howard
13. Kobus van Wyk
12. Nick Holton
11. Devon Williams
10. Tim Swiel
9. Ricky Schroeder (captain)
8. Rayn Smid
7. JP Swanepoel
6. Lungelo Chonco
5. Gerbrand Grobler
4. James Kilroe
3. Oliver Kebble
2. Neil Rautenbach
1. Francois van Wyk (vice-captain)
RESERVES:
16. Stephan Coetzee
17. Kelvin de Bruyn
18. Jean Kleyn
19. Vince Jobo
20. Andries Truter
21. Craig Barry
22. Clearance Khumalo
Referee: Archie Sehlako
