The Vodacom Blue Bulls u/20 will host the DHL Western Province u/20 at Loftus Versveld on Saturday at 11:00 (SA Time) in Round 2 of the 2023 SA Rugby Cup.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls had to work hard in Round 1 of the competition to beat a spirited Leopards u/20 in Potchefstroom 31-26 while the DHL Western Province lost to an extremely physical Cell C Sharks 19-31 in Cape Town.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls worked hard to fix problems in the scrums for which they were penalised a lot in Potchefstroom, while DHL Western Province would have tried to fix their lack of ability to stop the driving mauls after the Cell C Sharks scored three tries against them in Cape Town.
Vodacom Blue Bulls u/20 head coach, Wessel du Plessis made two changes to his starting line-up.
Both changes were made upfront. Johan Louw replaces Mawande Mdanda at tighthead prop while Gcino Mdletse moves from the side of the scrum to replace Lilitha Matsiliza. Ghudian van Reenen replaces Gcino Mdletse on the side of the scrum.
There are six changes to the DHL Western Province U20 starting line-up.
Christopher Pittaway joins Zachary Porthen and hooker Luca Bakkes in the front row, while there is an all-new lock pairing of Michael Mutombo and Adam de Waal. Jamie Ricketts comes into the loose trio and will link up with skipper Paul de Villiers and No.8 Camden Schoeman.
Bruce Sherwood makes his first start at outside centre, with Jared Africa moving out to the wing and Christoff de Bruyn at fullback.
DHL Western Province U20 Head Coach Norman Jordaan said that his team are looking forward to the challenge in Pretoria.
“While we did not get the win we were looking for, there were some very encouraging signs in the first half last week and we want to build on that.
“We have some very exciting players coming into the mix this week and we know it will have to be a big effort from all 23 players if we are to get the result at Loftus Versfeld,” he said.
Teams:
Vodacom Blue Bulls u/20: 15. Regan Izaks, 14. Quewin Nortje, 13. Katlego Letebele, 12. PA Van Niekerk, 11. Munashe Dukuswa, 10. Compion Von Ludwig, 9. Neil Le Roux, 8. Corne Beets, 7. Ghudian van Reenen, 6. Neels Volschenk (c), 5. Nel Van Heerden, 4. Gcino Mdletse , 3. Johan Louw, 2. Juanre Else, 1. Corne Lavagna. Replacements: 16. Junare Breitenbach, 17. Mbasa Maqubela, 18. M Mdanda, 19. L Matsiliza, 20. Cayno February, 21. Caleb Abrahams, 22. Liam Koen, 23. Alfondso Isaacs.
DHL Western Province u/20: 15 Christoff de Bruyn, 14 Jared Africa, 13 Bruce Sherwood, 12 Damian Marcus, 11 Thaaqib Ryland, 10 Ulrich Wahl, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Camden Schoeman, 7 Jamie Ricketts, 6 Paul de Villiers (captain), 5 Adam de Waal, 4 Michael Mutombo, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Luca Bakkes, 1 Christopher Pittaway. Replacements: 16 Tian Vorster, 17 Jason Johnson, 18 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 19 Hennie Sieberhagen, 20 Carlos da Costa, 21 FC Fourie, 22 Joshua Africa, 23 Graeme Waldeck.