Nazeem Adams’s DHL Western Province Under-19 team will be going into the 2013 season aiming to win the title… not to defend the trophy they won so convincingly last year.
The Province U19s drew just two matches en route to lifting the Under-19 Provincial title in convincing fashion in 2012 – beating the Blue Bulls in Durban in one of the two curtain-raisers to the Absa Currie Cup Final.
However, coach Adams does not have the luxury of being able to build a squad, with all of his players moving out of the Under-19 age-group bracket since last year.
Adams explained to wprugby.com: “As an Under-19 coach you always have a new bunch of players to work with, but that also makes it more exciting for me.
“I’m lucky, being based at the WP Rugby Institute, as it gives me an early look at the players I have at my disposal and I think we have a good squad.
“For me, however, it’s not about us being the defending champions. I mean, none of these players were part of last year’s squad, so I want these guys to go out there and win the competition – there is no talk this season of defending a title. I’m sure some teams will be gunning for us after last year, but, for us, it’s about starting with a clean slate.”
Lock Jan Uys will skipper the WP Under-19s in 2013, but coach Adams is sweating over the fitness of two key men, powerful prop Wesley Adonis and silky centre Wesley Cupido, ahead of the season.
“(Wesley) Adonis should be ready for action in a month,” said Adams, “but (Wesley) Cupido could be out for a while. We should know more about their well-being as the season progresses, but it would be great to have them in the mix at some point.
“I’m excited about Jan as my captain,” added the WP U19 boss. “Like JD Schickerling this season, Jan missed out on Craven Week last year because of injury but he is hungry to make up for that disappointment and he will lead the team well in 2013.”
Like the Under-21s, the WP U19s open their campaign in Bloemfontein this coming weekend (the team for the trip will be announced on Thursday, July 11), but Adams is not looking further ahead just yet.
“It’s a bit of a strange one in that we have one home game then four games at home,” he admitted, “but I’m just focusing on this coming weekend at the moment.
“It’s always important to start with a win, but more so, I guess, in this tough Under-19 competition where you tend to learn more about your opposition as the season progresses.”
The 2013 Western Province Under-19 squad:
Wesley Adonis
Faffa Botha
Wesley Cupido
Johan de Villiers
Francois Esterhuizen
Sebastian Ferreira
Solomon Ferreira
Marcus Geldenhuys
Nathan Gogela
Dalen Goliath
Michael Hazner
Liam Hendricks
Gerhard Lotter
Nikita Manqoyi
Steven Meiring
Alvino Montjies
Tiaan Mouton
Michael Mvelase
Devon Nash
Sebastian Negri
Morne Nortje
Ramone Samuels
Pieter Schoonraad
Chris Smith
Chad Solomon
Nico Steenkamp
Jan Uys (captain)
Luke van der Smit
Michael van Tonder
Jason Worrall
