Fleck keeps the faith for Cheetahs U21 clash

Aug 13 • General News • 1611 Views • Comments Off on Fleck keeps the faith for Cheetahs U21 clash

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DHL Western Province Under-21 coach Robbie Fleck has named an unchanged line-up for his team’s Absa Provincial Under-21 meeting with the Free State Cheetahs’ Under-21 team at DHL Newlands on Saturday at 12h45.

Having suffered an opening-round defeat at home – to the Sharks at City Park – Fleck’s charges are running into some good form as they prepare for their first outing at DHL Newlands in 2015, having scored three wins in succession.

The DHL WP Under-21 boss told the www.wprugby.com website: “We’ve been a work in progress this year, starting with our big pre-season squad, playing in trials and then accommodating the return of some senior (SA Under-20) players.

“The guys have settled in now, we’re starting to build some selection continuity and, most importantly, we’ve been able to knuckle down and fix the bad things in our game. We’ve been honest with each other in what is a crucial stage in our competition.

“Over the next three weeks we are playing the Cheetahs at home and then the Bulls and (again) the Cheetahs away. It’s a tough middle phase of competition, but we knew it was coming and we need to perform in order to keep the pressure on the Lions at the top of the log.”

Fleck’s side has picked up wins over the EP Kings (away), the Lions (home) and the Leopards (away) over the past three weeks, with both their away wins having been achieved with four-try bonus points.

“It was crucial to get some confidence into the team after that opening loss against the Sharks,” he said.

“I think we have that confidence now in our game, but we are keeping our feet firmly on the ground as we look to build some more momentum in this crucial phase of the season.”

* Match tickets, priced between R40 (for standing) and R60-R100 (for seats), can still be purchased ahead of the weekend – either online, at http://wprugby.computicket.com, or from Computicket outlets and Shoprite & Checkers stores nationwide.

The DHL WP Under-21 team for Saturday (v FS Cheetahs, home) is as follows:

15. Grant Hermanus
14. Khanyo Ngcukana
13. EW Viljoen
12. Daniel du Plessis
11. Leolin Zas
10. Jean-Luc du Plessis (vice-captain)
9. SP Ferreira
8. Rikus Bothma (captain)
7. Christo van der Merwe
6. Luke Stringer
5. David Ribbans
4. Johannes Momsen
3. Frans van Wyk
2. Chad Solomon
1. Wesley Adonis
Replacements:
16. Martin Wipplinger
17. Liam Hendricks
18. Devon Nash
19. Luke van der Smit
20. Justin Phillips
21. Ryno Eksteen
22. Sibahle Maxwane
Referee: AJ Jacobs