Gauteng derby to test Vodacom Blue Bulls Under-19’s
The Vodacom Blue Bulls Under-19 team is determined to earn a first win in the SA Rugby Under-19 Championship on Friday when they take on the defending champions, Xerox Golden Lions, at Loftus Versfeld.
The Pretoria team suffered two close losses against DHL Western Province and Toyota Free State Cheetahs in the opening two weeks of the campaign and their task is not getting easier on Friday when they face a star-studded Johannesburg side.
The Xerox Golden Lions opened their campaign with two solid wins over the EP Kings and Leopards and have a number of Junior Springboks players in their ranks.
Vodacom Blue Bulls coach, Dewey Swartbooi, feels that his side is on track with their form and did not make wholesale changes to his squad for the showdown against the Xerox Golden Lions.
He made two enforced changes at the back, with Christiaan Strydom (wing) and Ginter Smuts (scrumhalf) starting after playing off the bench last weekend in Bloemfontein.
Up front, he welcomes back Ryno Pieterse, who missed the Free State clash due to injury and also added former Border Craven Week player, Hanru Sirgel, to the bench.
Kick-off is at 15h00.
The team is: Jerome Bossr, Christiaan Strydom, Stefan Coetzee, Wian van Niekerk, Litha Nkula, Theo Boshoff, Ginter Smuts, Khwezi Mafu (c), Prince Goaseb, JC Pretorius, Ruan Nortje, Ryno Pieterse, Mornay Smit, Werner Fourie, Luke Fortuin. Replacements: Matthew van der Merwe, Dewald Maritz, Cabous Eloff, Raymond Nel, Hanru Sirgel, Jay-C Olivier, Henry Pike, Le-Irwin Andries.