Flank Paul de Villiers will captain defending champions DHL Western Province U21 in their season opener against Hollywoodbets Sharks U21 in Durban on Friday.
The coastal clash kicks off at 13h00 on Friday at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
DHL Western Province U21 went unbeaten in the competition last year and will be looking to make a solid start to their title defence.
De Villiers leads a team that also includes the likes of scrumhalf Imad Khan and centre Damian Markus who have Currie Cup experience.
Head Coach Johno van der Walt said that starting away from home will be a real test for his team.
“It’s a very tough match first-up against a Hollywoodbets Sharks squad with a lot of depth.
“It will be important for the combinations to settle as quickly as possible so that we can find some fluency.
“We have some players with good experience and a few others that we are excited about seeing in action this season, so it should be a great match,” he said.
DHL WP U21: 15 Ethan Isaacs, 14 Ryan Manuel, 13 Jonathan Roche, 12 Damian Markus, 11 Jared Africa, 10 Compion von Ludwig, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Max du Pisani, 7 Andre Goedhals, 6 Paul de Villiers (captain), 5 Carel van der Merwe, 4 Patrick Kitete, 3 Hendrik Lubbe, 2 Johan Lombard, 1 Mhleli Kuzwayo.
Replacements: 16 Tian Vorster, 17 Matthew Beckett, 18 Juan Ryan, 19 Michael Mutombo, 20 Xola Nyali, 21 Wandile Mlaba, 22 Kristoff Smith, 23 Ulrich Wahl.