New captain for DHL WP Under-19s

Powerhouse No.8 Ramone Samuels will lead the DHL Western Province Under-19 team into battle against the Blue Bulls U19s in Pretoria on Saturday (kick-off 13h15).

Samuels takes over the captaincy from lock Sebastian Ferreira, whilst coach Nazeem Adams has also selected a new-look loose trio, with Steven Meiring returning at No.6 and Gareth Ehret starting at No.7.

Attie van Rensburg will start in Ferreira’s place at lock, as the DHL WP juniors go in search of another scalp on the road – this time at Loftus Versfeld where all three WP teams will be in action on Saturday.

The WP Under-19s’ 45-36 win over the Leopards last weekend saw the Men from Cape Town move into fourth place on the log and into semifinal contention with four league games – including Saturday’s fixture – remaining this season.

However, their opponents this weekend, the unbeaten Bulls, are in great form and six points ahead of their nearest rivals on the log, with coach Adams saying: “The win over the Leopards was an important one for us as, crucially, we robbed them of points too (in the process).

“But that was last week and the Bulls are an excellent team with an unblemished record this season,” Adams told www.wprugby.com.

“My players’ commitment and work ethic has been great all season long and hopefully we can show even more improvement in our play this week.”

The DHL Western Province Under-19 team to take on the Blue Bulls is as follows:

15. Jason Worrall, 14. Dewald Naude, 13. Jarryd Sage, 12. Jason Morris, 11. Dalen Goliath, 10. Chris Smith, 9. Pieter Schoonraad, 8. Ramone Samuels (captain), 7. Gareth Ehret, 6. Steven Meiring, 5. Sebastian Negri, 4. Attie van Rensburg, 3. Liam Hendricks, 2. Chad Solomon, 1. Wesley Adonis. Replacements: 16. Josh Moon, 17. Michael van Tonder, 18. Nathan Gogela, 19. Janco Venter, 20. Luke van der Smit, 21. SP Ferreira, 22. Jonty Bredell, 23. Michael Mvelase

Referee: Pieter Janse van Vuuren