Nazeem Adams, the DHL Western Province Under-19 coach, has announced his team to take on the Sharks at Mr Price Kings Park, in Durban, on Friday afternoon (15h00).
Adams has made six changes to his team from last week, all but one of those changes coming in the backline, with Under-21 call-ups – due to injuries in the senior team – necessitating a few adjustments to the log-topping side in South Africa’s premier Provincial Under-19 competition.
Just the halfbacks, Tommy Allan and Jean Nel, remain in their original backline positions from last Saturday, the DHL WP Under-19s having beaten the Leopards 39-8 at DHL Newlands as they moved into top spot on the log.
Centres Justin Geduld and Janco Gunther have been reunited in the midfield, at No.13 and No.12, respectively, with Cheslin Kolbe and Werner Kok – like Geduld – returning from Sevens duty to take up their regular places at fullback and wing, respectively.
In other changes, with winger JP Lewis joining centres Kyle Lombard and John-Ben Kotze in the Under-21 team for the weekend, Selom Gavor shifts across to the left-wing, with Kok lining up in the No.14 jersey.
Up front, meanwhile, Niel Oelofse will start at loosehead prop, with Sti Sithole getting a deserved break on the bench.
“It’s been a bit of a disruptive week,” admitted coach Adams. “Monday, in particular, was a bit tough as we didn’t know who was coming (in terms of those guys returning) and going (in terms of call-ups)… but it’s been going well since our Sevens guys returned on Tuesday.
“But the guys are, as always, in a positive space and we want to ensure that we keep performing. If we perform well, our results will continue to take care of themselves as the league phase of our competition winds down.
“Like I’ve always said, we’ve been expecting disruptions during the season and even though we’ve made so many changes to our backline – aside from the absence of JP Lewis, this is actually our first-choice backline… even if it’s come in a round-about way!”
Looking ahead to Friday’s game – with WP (in first place) having to travel to Durban to take on the fifth-placed Sharks – Adams added: “Facing the Sharks is a difference challenge, this is a well-coached side.
“The Sharks could move from fifth place to third place should they beat us tomorrow, so it’s very unfair to look at their log position. They’ve lost some close games, whereas we’ve been fortunate to win some close ones, so we’re expecting a tough game.”
The DHL Western Province Under-19 team to take on the Sharks is as follows:
15. Cheslin Kolbe
14. Werner Kok
13. Justin Geduld
12. Janco Gunther
11. Selom Gavor
10. Tommy Allan
9. Jean Nel
8. Justin Benn
7. Jurie van Vuuren
6. Eital Bredenkamp
5. Andrew Becker
4. Tiaan Benade
3. Nicol Heyns
2. Freddie Kirsten (captain)
1. Niel Oelofse
RESERVES:
16. Brianton Booysen
17. Sti Sithole
18. Deacon Chowles
19. Sebastian Ferreira
20. Nicholai Lubbe
21. Bjorn Bernardo
22. Niel Bester
23. Lwazi Sithole
Referee: Jaco van Heerden