The Eastern Province U19 team are ready to face the Bulls U19 in their first match of the season at Loftus on Friday afternoon.
The team will be captained by CJ Velleman, who made his provincial debut earlier this year for the EP Kings at Vodacom Cup level.
“We are really looking forward to the season; we know it is going to be a big challenge this year and that we will have to up our game as we will be playing A division this year after winning the promotion relegation match against Border last year,” said U19 head coach, Mzwandile Stick.
“This is also a great opportunity for our youngsters, who will now be playing top competitive rugby in their age group, which can mean good things for the Union going forward,” he said.
Stick said the team, which included a number of top players from the Eastern Province school system, including the likes of Velleman, Tyler Paul and Malcolm Jaer, were expecting a tough game against the Bulls.
“We know that they have a strong forward pack and some talented players, including some who were part of the SA U20 squad, so we are expecting a very physical game,” he said.
“This is the first game of the season, it’s their home ground, so we know the Bulls are going to come hard, but we have also some talented players and we’re up for the challenge,” said Stick.
The game will take place at Loftus in Pretoria on Friday. Kickoff is at 3pm.
The team:
Starting Lineup: 1. Thembelihle Yase, 2. Jean-Pierre (JP) Jamieson, 3. Chris Whitting, 4. Wynand Grassmann, 5. Sintu Manjezi, 6. Cyril-John (CJ) Velleman (Capt), 7. Tyler Paul, 8. Mihlali Nchukana, 9. Jason Baggott, 10. Jason Vers, 11. Lindelwe Zungu, 12. Luan Nieuwoudt , 13. Dominik Uytenbogaardt, 14. Thabani Mgugudo , 15. Malcolm Jaer
Replacements:, 16. Arno Lotter, 17. James Beyl, 18. David Murray, 19. Gerrit Huisamen , 20. Qhama Mvimbi , 21. Kewan Gibb, 22. Luzuko Mase, 23. Julio Abels
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