A strong and exciting Vodacom Bulls Under-20 side has been selected to take on their Toyota Free State counterparts in an SA Rugby Under-20 Championship encounter at Loftus Versfeld on Friday afternoon.
On the back of a hard-fought 31-33 win away from home against the Cell C Sharks U20 team in their previous fixture, the Vodacom Bulls U20 side will go into the match high in confidence. So too will the spirited opponents from Bloemfontein, who claimed a 24-18 victory over Eastern Province U20 a fortnight ago.
Among the changes made by head coach, Wessel du Plessis, ahead of the game is the inclusion of FC du Plessis at flyhalf. The versatile player has previously turned out at fullback with great composure. Four other changes were made at the back. Neil Beukes (#15) and Bayanda Ngubane (#13) will start for the Bulls for the first time while Canan Moodie moves to the inside centre replacing Carlton Bannies who moves to the wing.
Up front the exciting Willie Potgieter starts at #8 with captain Raynard Mouton moving to #6. These two combines with Reinhardt Ludwig to form one of the most exciting loosies at the u/20 age group.
The head coach looked ahead to the clash: “We are already seeing signs of growth as a team, and we have had some excellent preparations since our last fixture two weeks ago.
“We are looking forward to a tough, but exciting match against a quality Free State Cheetahs U20 side that has also shown what they are capable of. We have made a few changes in our effort to utilise the depth of our squad. As such, we also have some quality players who will provide cover from the bench.”
The Cheetahs again made minimal changes. Revano Muller will make his first appearance at wing while captain Lohan Potgieter returns at #8. The other two changes are in the frontrow where Frank Nchabeng (#3) and Delmar Gegenaar (#2) forms a new pairing with Zukisa Sali settling in on the loosehead.
The match will kick-off at 13h00 on Friday.
Teams:
Vodacom Bulls u/20: 15. Neil Beukes, 14. Tharquin Manuel 13. Bayanda Ngubane, 12. Canan Moodie, 11. Carlton Bannies, 10. FC du Plessis, 9. Tiaan Fourie, 8. Willie Potgieter, 7. Reinhardt Ludwig, 6. Raynard Mouton (c), 5. Tiaan de Klerk, 4. Raynard Roets, 3. Sebastian Lombard, 2. Enrique Corties, 1. Cebo Dlamini. Replacements: 16. Tielman Nieuwoudt, 17. Keagan Potgieter, 18. Ntokozo Hlope, 19. Ruan Delport, 20. Cameron Hanekom, 21. Johan Muller, 22. Chulumanco Mfakadolo, 23. Eric Basson, 24. Jandre Burger, 25. Kane Galant, 26. Geraldo Flusk
Toyota Free State u/20: 15. Jandre Nel, 14. Revano Muller, 13. Lesley Botha, 12. Jooste Nel, 11. Jay-Dee Jooste, 10. Wikus Basson, 9. Xander Botha, 8. Bennett Nortje, 7. Lohan Potgieter (c), 6. Francois Bester, 5. Kevin Strydom, 4. Jan Hendrik Blignaut, 3. Frank Nchabeng, 2. Delmar Gegenaar, 1. Zukisa Sali. Replacements: 16. Marnus Nel, 17. Warren Louw, 18. Ali Gqaza, 19. Zander du Toit, 20. Gideon van Wyk , 21. Hlumelo Klaas, 22. Chad Josias, 23. Juan-Dee Oliver, 24. JD Odendal, 25. Emil Kotze, 26. Avumile Bongco.