The Cell C Sharks Under 19 and Under 21 teams have remained largely unchanged for their respective SA Rugby junior Championship matches against their Blue Bulls counterparts at JONSSON KINGS PARK KP2 on Saturday.
Head coach of the Cell C Sharks Under 19s Sean Everitt has made one change to his side, Dre Engelbrecht has been forced out of action after twisting his ankle at training and his place on the bench has been taken by Sean Barnes.
Meanwhile head coach of the Under 21s, Ricardo Loubscher, has effected two changes, Andrew Evans coming in for William Squires at lock and flank Austin Brummer replaces Cornelius Otto in the back row.
Both teams are unbeaten to date, although the Cell C Sharks Under 19s have completed a full round already and Sean Everitt heaped praise on his side for their performance against the Leopards last weekend. In the first round match they managed a narrow 38-29 victory, but piled on the points in the second round match, coming away with a 90-7 win.
“It’s important to give credit where credit is due,” said the coach. “The Leopards are a good team that beat the Cheetahs so it was always going to be a difficult game, but our performance against the Leopards was absolutely superb.
“However, we know what’s coming this weekend, the Bulls are a good side, one of the top teams in the competition and I know they will be keen to turn things around after their loss against the Lions.”
With a hugely successful track record this season, there is always the fear that an unbeaten side gains a measure of complacency, but not this team, Everitt said.
“This group is quite mature and understand the goal and have embraced it completely: we are performance-based and we review games on performance, not results. The message this week is for the guys to not let themselves down. They’ve set themselves high standards and they’re mature enough to know what they need to do to achieve them. We’re excited, as a group, to continue the momentum we’ve built so far.”
The Under 21s play at 3pm with the Under 19s kicking off their match at 1pm.
Cell C Sharks Under 19s
1. James Scott
2. Fez Mbatha
3. Francois Klopper
4. Lappies Labuschagne
5. JJ van der Mescht
6. Vian Fourie
7. Dylan Richardson
8. Phepsi Buthelezi (C)
9. Sanele Nohamba
10. Murray Koster
11. Asanda Kunene
12. DJ Falconer
13. Muller du Plessis
14. Caleb Dingaan
15. Thaakir Abrahams
Replacements
16. Cole Haggard
17. Adriaan Staples
18. Sean Barnes
19. Nachos Vidal
20. Adam Mountford
21. Matt Doyle
22. Boeta Chamberlain
23. Onke Jiba
The Cell C Sharks Under 21s
1. Jordan Els
2. Franco Botha
3. Jean-Pierre Smith
4. Dylan Weideman
5. Andrew Evans
6. Austin Brummer
7. Jacques Ackerman
8. Marco Palvie
9. Gareth Simpson
10. Courtney Winnaar (C)
11. Ilunga Mukendi
12. Khail Kotzenberg
13. James Tedder
14. Mfundo Ndhlovu
15. Shane van Rooyen
Replacements
16. Matt Wiseman
17. Christiaan de Jager
18. Heinrich Bredel
19. William Squires
20. Gert Cronje
21. Xavier Swartbooi
22. Sicelo Tole
The post Consistency for Juniors appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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