The Hollywoodbets Sharks Under 21s take on the Golden Lions Under 21s at Hollywoodbets Kings Park KP2 on Saturday at 1pm in a round four SA Rugby Under 21 Cup clash.
Reflecting on the last match, against the Blue Bulls Under 21s last weekend, head coach JP Pietersen admitted that, “Things didn’t go according to plan last weekend, but in saying that, it was a great learning curve for the young men. If they want to play professional rugby one day, there will be a lot of games at Loftus and they will learn from this if they want to pursue this career pathway.”
Looking at where the team can improve for this match against the Lions, Pietersen added that, “What we need to do better and do well is at the set-piece. The Bulls dominated our scrums and lineouts, so that’s been a massive focus in preparation for this match.
“The other thing we can get better at is our defence, it’s a part of the game we pride ourselves on and to concede 10 tries in one game is unacceptable for us.
“But we’ve had a hard chat, made some changes and the boys are ready to fight. We have a very exciting group who want to make it right come Saturday.”
Amongst the changes are the inclusion of five under 19 players in the starting XV and a further six on the bench.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks Under 21s
- Phatu Ganyane
- Andrew Davis
- Mawande Mdande
- Van Heerden Pretorius*
- Hennie Sieberhagen
- Meno Barnard
- Jannes Potgieter (Captain)
- Nick Hatton
- Juan Loots*
- Jean Smith
- Maurice Willemse
- Albie Bester*
- Scott Nel*
- Jaco Williams*
- Hakeem Kunene
Replacements - Christian Everitt*
- Bradley Stanfliet
- Siyabonga Dube
- Schalk du Plessis*
- Yabo Ndzamela*
- Ceano Everson*
- Chris Horak*
- Henrico Germishuizen*
*U19 Players