Former EP coach back on old battleground with Boland
FORMER EP coach Brent Janse van Rensburg will return to his old battleground when Boland face the Kings in a Currie Cup Premier Division match in Port Elizabeth tomorrow (kickoff 5pm).
Janse van Rensburg, who left the Kings at the end of last season’s Currie Cup, will be facing a new-look EP team which has been hastily assembled after a last-minute cash injection from the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
EP coach Barend Pieterse is looking forward to a tactical duel against the Bolanders and a former coaching colleague.
“Obviously Brent is a clever coach. I have worked with him and now, for the first time, against him,” Pieterse said.
“Brent will have done his homework. They will have a look at some of the stuff that happened with the Southern Kings in Super Rugby.
“Knowing Brent and the type of coach he is, he is very set in his ways, which is not a bad thing at all. It is a good thing.
“Boland have got big ball carriers so they would want to try and take us on up front.
“They will try to run at us so if we can stop that momentum . . . that would be first prize for us. I think it does count in our favour that nobody knows much about us.
“I think we are going to find out more about ourselves [tomorrow]. So it will be a surprise for us as well.”
The EP coach said there had been a positive atmosphere on the training pitch which boded well for the match.
“I think things are very positive. Obviously, the situation we are in, and where we are at the moment, is not perfect. But the attitude the guys are bringing to training, and towards each other, is good,” he said.
“The guys are putting in the hard work to make the best of the situation at the moment.
“Boland are a team who have been playing together for the whole competition. They are a well drilled team.
“So it is going to be a tough task but . . . we are where we are at the moment and there is no turning back.
“So far nobody has complained, and that includes the coaches and the management.
“Everyone is just excited to be playing Currie Cup Premier Division rugby. All they want to do is play rugby and their conditioning is very good. There is nobody here who has not played in ages,” Pieterse said.
The team have been boosted by the late arrival of Siviwe “Shakes” Soyizwapi who has been released from his SA Rugby sevens duties to play for the Kings. He will start at fullback.
The former Southern Kings player will be hoping he gets plenty of opportunities to run at the Boland defence in his homecoming match.
While most of the team comprises last-minute imports, EP fans will recognise the names of locks Tazz Fuzani and Cornell Hess.
The team is: Shakes Soyizwapi, Alcino Isaacs, Johann Tromp, Waylon Murray, Sampie Mastriet, Kobus Marais, Ricky Schroeder, Christiaan de Bruin, Sebastian Ferreira, Vince Jhobo, Cornell Hess, Tazz Fuzani, Vulike Sofisa, Mike Willemse, Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: Martin Bezuidenhout, Justin Forwood, David Antonites, Brandon Brown, Jacques Fick, Burton Klaasen, Lungelo Goza. Meanwhile, the EP U21 team to play the Sharks in Durban on Saturday will be led by Baby Bok captain Jeremy Ward.
The EP U21 team is:
David Murray, JP Jamieson, NJ Oosthuizen, Wynand Grassmann, Gerrit Huisamen, Jayson Reinecke, Robert Lyons, Lusanda Badiyana, Sbu Ngcokovane, Garrick Mattheus, Lindelwe Zungu, Jeremy Ward (c), Somila Jho, Keanu Vers, Malcolm Jaer. Replacements: Arno Lotter, Roche van Zyl, Justin Hollis, Jedwyn Harty, Rouche Nel, Simon Bolze, Mabhutana Peter.