Despite being assured of a place in the Absa U19 Provincial Championship semifinals, the EP Kings will not be taking their eye off the ball in the final two matches of the league phase against the Blue Bulls and Western Province.
The unbeaten Kings travel to Pretoria this weekend for a clash with the Bulls on Friday (October 2) and round off their programme against WP in Cape Town the following Friday (October 9).
Coach Mzwandile Stick’s team look set to end in the top two and claim a home semifinal, but the former Blitz Bok sevens star said they were not even thinking of that at this stage.
“l believe I am lucky to have the kind of players in our squad who have remained very humble and always have shown a very professional approach,” Stick said. “They remain hungry for success in their remaining games and that is all what we are focused on at the moment.”
Stick has been forced to make a change at flyhalf where Michael Brink, who has excelled both with his goal-kicking boot and general play this season, is out injured. However, the coach said he was happy with the depth they had in the squad and was confident Jordan Koekemoer would comfortably fill the role.
“Jordan has performed well for us this year and he had a good game when he came on for Michael last week,” he said. “And we also have Garrick Mattheus on the bench so I believe we have good cover.”
Although they had a good win over the Bulls in the first round, the Kings know it will be a tougher proposition in Pretoria. The home side are playing their final game of the season and would like to stay ahead of Western Province (Bulls 39, WP 37) to put some pressure on the Cape side in the battle for the top two places.
WP are up against the Lions in Johannesburg on Friday, with the home side involved in a scrap with Free State, who have a bye, in the battle for the fourth spot on the log. Free State have 23 points from 11 games and the Lions have 22 from 10 matches.
In the U21 competition, the EP Kings will continue the fight to add to their single victory this season against the Bulls in Pretoria.
Skipper Kevin Kaba’s team produced a spirited effort against the Leopards last week before agonisingly conceding two tries in the final five minutes to lose a key fixture.
Unless there is a dramatic turnaround, it seems unlikely that the Kings will avoid ending at the bottom of the log, but the team are full of pride and coach Ryan Felix will be urging them to produce a strong finish to the season.
The teams are:
EP U19 (15-1): Keanu Vers, Austin Fredericks, Yamkela Nyalambisa, Jeremy Ward, Athi Mayinje, Jordan Koekemoer, James Hall, Junior Pokomela, Hayden Tharratt, SF Nieuwoudt, Lusanda Badiyana, Robert Lyons, Nicolaas Oosthuizen, Thango Balekile, Greg Jackson.
Replacements (16-23): Masikane Mazwi, Xandre Vos, Matthew Howes, Wihan Coetzer, Xolisa Matshoba, Davron Cameron, Garrick Mattheus, Mabhutana Peter.
EP U21 (15-1): Malcolm Jaer, Khaya Malotana, Somila Jho, Leighton van Wyk, Ivan-John du Preez, Warren Swarts, Franswa Ueckermann, Kevin Kaba (capt), Brandon Brown, CJ Velleman, Tyler Paul, Jan Uys, Stephan Ebersohn, JP Jamieson, David Murray.
Replacements (16-22): Jedwyn Harty, Matthew Moore, Wynand Grassman, Jason Reinecke, Luvo Claasen, Simon Bolze, MC Venter.
The latest logs, matches in brackets, are:
- U19: EP 46 (10), Blue Bulls 39 (11), WP 37 (10), Free State 23 (11), Golden Lions 22 (10), Leopards 16 (10), Sharks 7 (10).
- U21: WP 42 (10), Free State 40 (11), Sharks 31 (10), Golden Lions 28 (10), Blue Bulls 28 (11), Leopards 13 (10), EP Kings 4 (10).
Alan Straton
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