The Vodacom Bulls u/21 side will face a tough challenge when they take on the Cell C Sharks u/21 side in their SA Rugby u/21 Cup showdown at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The side from Pretoria has had a good start to their campaign after claiming back-to-back victories in their opening two matches of the season, a 54-26 win over Leopards U21 in the opening round and recently an away 10-26 triumph over DHL Western Province U21 in Paarl last weekend.
While the Vodacom Bulls u/21 will be beaming with confidence given their positive start to the campaign, they will remain wary of the dangers posed by a talented Cell C Sharks u/21. Although the side from Durban is yet to claim a win this season after going down 22-31 to DHL WP u/21 in their opening round before a bye week last weekend.
However, expect the Vodacom Bulls to use their dominant pack of forwards to bully their visitors until the cracks in the defence of the Cell Sharks u/21's defence appear.
Vodacom Bulls u/21 head coach, Hayden Groepes, has selected a strong team and opting for consistency with an unchanged team that will run onto the Loftus A-field at 12h00 on Saturday.
Opening matches against DHL Western Province u/21 and then the Vodacom Bulls u/21, both top sides in the competition, may be a daunting prospect, but it also poses an exciting challenge for the young Cell C Sharks u/21 team.
“Obviously we were disappointed with the result against Western Province, you never want to start a campaign off with a loss, but we were very pleased with the performance, there were so many positives we could take out of it,” explains head coach Mike Vowles.
“There were certainly some good lessons learnt, and to score four tries against them was definitely one of the big positives, we just conceded too many soft moments in the game and gave them too many opportunities too easily.
“We’ve spoken about it as a group and we will be better going into this game against the Bulls who offer a very different challenge. We know what’s coming in terms of their physicality, they base their whole game around scrum dominance and maul, so we have some plans to try and counter that.
“The challenge is always the physicality, us being a young side in the competition and having to front up against guys often two years older than our 19-year-olds. But that’s the great challenge and the young players need to see it as an opportunity to prove themselves.”
Vowles explained that with the return of players from injury, he expected them to boost the side.
“We’ve had a really good week of training, the preparation has been great and we’ll be a bit stronger than last week and we’re hoping for a really good hit out and excited for the opportunity at Loftus. We’re fully aware of the challenge, but one I’m sure the guys will rise to.”
Vodacom Bulls u/21: 15. Franco Knoetze, 14. Tharquinn Manuel, 13. Gert Steyn, 12. FC du Plessis, 11. Quewin Nortje, 10. Compion von Ludwig, 9. Tiaan Fourie (Co-Captain), 8. Danwich Beukes, 7. Ghudian van Reenan, 6. Neels Volskenk, 5. Marco de Witt, 4. Merwe Olivier, 3. Sebastiaan Lombard, 2. Tiaan Lange, 1. Cebo Dhlamini (Co-Captain). Replacements: 16. Reuben van der Nest, 17. Corne Lavagna, 18. Mawande Mdanda, 19. Hardus Rothmann, 20. Abulele Ndabambi; 21. Neil le Roux, 22. Carlton Banies, 23. Sonwabo Sokoyi.
Cell C Sharks u/21: 15. Lloyd Koster, 14. Curwin Gertse, 13. Ethan Fisher, 12. Ethan Hooker, 11. Siviwe Zondani, 10. Brandon Wilkie, 9. Christian Els, 8. Nicholas Hatton (c), 7. Siyambuka Ningiza, 6. Damon Royle, 5. Andrew Beyrooti, 4. Le Roux Coetzee, 3. Dian Heunis, 2. Bryce Calvert, 1. Abrahaam Reyneke. Replacements: 16. Jacques Marais, 17. Phatu Ganyane, 18. Munashe Mhere, 19. Cornelius Rahl, 20. Luca Ribbens, 21. Joshua Miller, 22. Taurin Craze, 23. Liqhayiya Gantsho.
