The DHL Western Province Emerging team and the Blue Bulls Amateur side will battle it out for the title of national amateur champions at DHL Newlands on Saturday in a grand finale to the 2013 Amateur Provincial series.
The overall Ama
teur Provincial Champions are crowned each year following a round-robin series between the winners of the respective Central, Southern and Northern Amateur Provincial competitions.
This year, the KZN Duikers (Central champions), Emerging WP (Southern) and Blue Bulls (Northern) teams featured in the three-match Amateur Series, with WP beating KZN 25-21 in Durban in the first match on October 5 and the Blue Bulls thumping KZN 56-18 in Pretoria last weekend.
With KZN officially knocked out of the running for the title after suffering defeats in both their matches, Saturday's clash between WP and the Blue Bulls effectively becomes the final of the competition, meaning the winner will be crowned the champions.
The match, which begins at 09h45, will kick-off proceedings on an action-packed day at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
The Absa Under-21 Provincial Championship semifinal and the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division semifinal, both of which will feature clashes between DHL Western Province and the MTN Golden Lions, will follow the match at 12h00 and 14h30, respectively.
WP Emerging coach Lionel Langenhoven has announced a strong starting XV for tomorrow, with changes at loose forward and lock.
False Bay hooker Shameegh Allen will again lead the team into battle and inside centre Morgan Newman will provide plenty of experience in the backline.
Newman will be looking to get the ball wide to his dangerous wingers, Sinethemba Maphaqa and Craig Pheiffer, with halfbacks Louis Nel and Shane Vallender pulling the strings on his inside.
Up front, Allen has some athletic line-out options in the shape of locks Juan-Paul Kellerman and Pallo Manuel, with Ryen Etzebeth – the older brother of Eben Etzebeth! – providing some muscle from the bench.
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The DHL Western Province Emerging team to take on the Blue Bulls is as follows:
15. Raymond Olivier
14. Sinethemba Maphaqa
13. Danwill Erasmus
12. Morgan Newman
11. Craig Pheiffer
10. Shane Vallender
9. Louis Nel
8. Jose Julies
7. Waldo Prinsloo
6. Oswin Mentoor
5. Juan-Paul Kellerman
4. Pallo Manuel
3. Christo van Wyk
2. Shameegh Allen (captain)
1. Denzil Riddles
Replacements:
16. Marko Janse van Rensberg
17. Gabri Lourens
18. Ryen Etzebeth
19. Stef Botha
20. Dylon Frylinck
21. Andy Huysamen
22. Caleb Smith
MANAGEMENT TEAM:
Coach: Lionel Langenhoven
Assistant coach: Kevin Musikanth
Manager: Gavin Sheldon
