SA Schools teams named for U19 series openers
SA Schools coach Lance Sendin and SA Schools A coach Sean Erasmus on Thursday named their teams for the opening round of the Under-19 International Series at City Park Stadium in Crawford, Cape Town, on Friday.
The SA Schools team will face Wales at 15h00 and the SA Schools A team takes on Italy at 13h30. In the other fixture England and France clash at 12h00. All three matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport 1 (channel 201).
With the bulk of the 26-man SA Schools squad being made up of DHL Western Province players, who took top honours in the U18 Coca-Cola Craven Week for the second successive year, Sendin had the luxury of selecting a few settled player combinations.
The DHL Western Province loose trio of Charl Serdyn, Muller Uys and Khanya Ncusane will form a solid looseforward combination, while their provincial counterparts, fullback Gianni Lombard and wing Mike Mavovana, will also form a key combination at the back along with left wing Sihle Njezula from Eastern Province.
The front-row pairing of Bidvest Golden Lions prop Nathan McBeth and hooker PJ Botha, who will pack down with Eastern Province Country Districts prop Sazi Sandi, will also be vital against the Welsh pack.
“Given the limited time to prepare for the tournament, it was important to select a few settled player combinations, while at the same time trying to name the strongest possible team,” said Sendin.
“Unfortunately a few players had flu this week and had to be managed, which also influenced our team selection. That said, we would like to give the players on the bench a good run as well in the match.”
Commenting on the threat posed by Wales, Sendin said: “Wales have come all the way to South Africa and they will be determined to win. The fact that they have played together before will certainly give them confidence. Their rush defence is very good and they have a strong pack of forwards, so they will look to dominate up front, and we are expecting them to use their rolling maul often, so we have to be wary of that.”
Erasmus also selected a few settled combinations in his starting team to face Italy, with Enrista Blue Bulls fullback Abner van Reenen, wing Austin Davids and captain and centre Louritz Van der Schyff joining forces. In the front row, the familiarity between Sharks hooker Dylan Richardson and prop Gugu Nelani will add stability in the front row.
“We selected a team we thought we would be best suited to way we plan to play against Italy,” said Erasmus.
“We are expecting a physical onslaught from them in the first 20 minutes and a free-flowing game in general. They are a passionate nation and that will certainly show in the way they play, so this will be a tough test for us.”
With the U19 International Series serving as a platform to expose young players to top-class rugby from a young age, all six teams have been allowed to name match-day squads of 26 players. However, only eight replacements may be used on the day.
SA Schools team to face Wales:
15 Gainni Lombard (Paarl Boys’ High), 14 Mike Mavovana, 13 Wandisile Simelane (Jeppe), 12 Rikus Pretorius (Grey College), 11 Sihle Njezulu (Grey PE), 10 Damian Willemse (Paul Roos Gimnasium), 9 Rewan Kruger (Grey College), 8 Khanya Ncusane (Paarl Boys’ High), 7 Muller Uys (Paarl Gimnasium), 6 Charl Serdyn (Paarl Boys’ High), 5 PJ Steenkamp (Garsfontein), 4 Salmaan Moerat (Paarl Boys’ High – captain), 3 Sazi Sandi (St. Andrew’s College), 2 PJ Botha (Monument), 1 Nathan McBeth (Monument). Replacements: 16 Daniel Jooste (Paarl Boys’ High), 17 Reece Bezuidenhout (Paarl Boys’ High), 18 Adam Neethling (Paarl Boys’ High), 19 Ben-Jason Dixon (Paul Roos Gimnasium), 20 JC Pretorius (HTS Middelburg), 21 Richman Gora (Welkom Gimnasium), 22 Ruan de Swardt (Affies), 23 Manuel Rass, 24 Muller du Plessis (Paarl Gimnasium), 25 Emillio Adonis (Garsfontein), 26 Khwezi Mafu (Grey PE).
SA Schools A team to face Italy:
15 Abner van Reenen (Garsfontein), 14 Austin Davids (Garsfontein), 13 Louritz van der Schyff (Affies – captain), 12 Sicelo Tole (), 11 Cameron Hufke (Noord-Kaap), 10 Lubabalo Dobela (), 9 Sanele Nohamba (), 8 Jessie Johnson (), 7 Mark Snyman (Helpmekaar), 6 Athi Magwala (Boland Landbou), 5 Christopher Havenga (Monument), 4 Jaco van Tonder (Grey College), 3 Mornay Smith (Eldoraigne), 2 Dylan Richardson (Kearsney College), 1 Gugu Nelani (). Replacements: 16 Schalk Erasmus (Affies), 17 Cabous Eloff (Affies), 18 Keagan Glade (King Edward VII), 19 JJ van der Mescht (Glenwood), 20 Ryno Pieterse (Garsfontein), 21 Dian Schoonees (Grey College), 22 Zinedine Booysen (Oakdale Landbou), 23 Tyrone Green (Jeppe), 24 Tadendaishe Mujawo (St. Benedict’s College), 25 Janco van Heyningen (Grey College), 26 Ayabonga Oliphant ().
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
