With an intense pre-season now behind them, DHL Western Province U21 are primed to hit the ground running when the SA Rugby U21 Cup kicks off this weekend.

An extended squad has been hard at work over the last month, raising fitness levels, working on rugby skills and getting taken out of their comfort zone with some team-building.

Head Coach Jono van der Walt and his management team of Norman Jordaan (Attack), Brok Harris (Forwards) and Craig Childs (Defence) have plenty of talented players at their disposal, including the likes of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Connor Evans, Imad Khan, Junior Springbok captain Paul de Villiers, Armand Maritz, Louw Nel, Lukhanyo Vokozela, Corne Weilbach, Luke Burger, Tom Nel and Damian Markus, who all represented the senior DHL Western Province team in the Currie Cup.

On top of their sessions at the WP Rugby High Performance Centre in Bellville and at City Park in Athlone, the squad also attended a training camp in Hermanus and have hit the beach to do some surf-skiing.

There were also warm-up matches against an U21 club invitational team and current WPRFU Super League A champions False Bay, which the squad came through well.

The SA Rugby U21 Cup will see each team play five league fixtures in a single round, before the top four teams go through to the semifinals.

DHL Western Province U21 get their campaign underway on home turf at City Park on Saturday where they will be up against Hollywoodbets Sharks U21.

Head Coach Van der Walt says that while the pre-season has been rewarding for both players and coaches, everyone is keen to get going.

“There has been a lot of careful planning and preparation that have gone into this campaign and it has been great to see the players embrace everything we have thrown at them.

“We have several players with experience for both the DHL Stormers and DHL Western Province, so the intensity has been right up there.

“We are really excited to see what this group can do in what is a short and sharp campaign. We know we will have to start strong if we are to be in the mix at the business-end of it, so that is the focus right now,” he said.

DHL WP U21 fixtures:

Saturday 26 August (13h00)
v Hollywoodbets Sharks U21
City Park, Cape Town

Friday, 1 September (11h00)
v Vodacom Bulls U21
Loftus Versfeld B, Pretoria

Saturday, 9 September (13h00)
v Lions U21
City Park, Cape Town

Saturday, 16 September (15h00)
v Toyota Cheetahs U21
Shimla Park, Bloemfontein

Saturday, 30 September (12h00)
v Leopards U21
Olen Park, Potchefstroom