Vodacom Bulls under-19 Head coach, Edgar Marutlulle has warned his herd to expect a physical and tough encounter against a well-coached Cell C Sharks side. The two teams will meet in the final bout of the SA Rugby under-19 Cup on Saturday 12 November, where the winner will take it all.
“The team [Vodacom Bulls] is well prepared, we have travelled well to Durban, and we look forward to a good game against the Sharks. We are confident that we can do well as the players will go out there and do their best of their ability,”
“We respect the Sharks, they really are a good team – noting that six of their seven tries in the competition [thus far] have been through their forwards, so we are expecting a tough and physical encounter – but I am equally confident that the plenty work we have put in will help us and how well we have stuck together as a group, growing together through the year will come in handy. A lot of our players have got good foundational experience from a winning culture that we have as the Vodacom Bulls and that should also help us come Saturday.”
Speaking on the importance of continuing the culture of cultivating excellence and breeding winners from a junior level, the Vodacom Bulls junior’s mentor said: “We always look forward to seeing the next batch of youngsters who will put up their hands and see how we can help them develop into future stars that the Vodacom Bulls can take pride in” concludes Marutlulle.
There is no official final scheduled for the SA Rugby under-19 Cup – as participating teams play a single round of matches – with the franchise that has collected the most points primed for the honours. Thus leaving this weekend’s tie perfectly poised for a final showdown between two undefeated sides.
Kick-off at Kings Park is set for 13:00pm CAT.
VODACOM BULLS UNDER-19 VS CELL C SHARKS:
1. Corne Lavagna, 2. Juann Else, 3. Mawande Mdanda, 4. Hanno Theunissen, 5. Corne Beets, 6. Neels Volschenk (c), 7. Ghudian Van Reenen, 8. Abulele Ndabambi, 9. Neil Le Roux, 10. Compion Von Ludwig, 11. Adrian Joubert, 12. Gert Steyn, 13. Munashe Dukuswa, 14. Lutho Mene, 15. Quewin Nortje (c)
VODACOM BULLS UNDER-19 IMPACT SQUAD:
16. Johan Lombard, 17. Mbasa Maqubela, 18. Johan Louw, 19. Haydn Kemp, 20. Gcino Mdletshe, 21. Olwethu Ngwenya, 22. Shaun Calitz, 23. Regan Izaks
VODACOM BULLS UNDER-19 MANAGEMENT:
Edgar Marutlulle – Head Coach; Hayden Groepes – Attack & backline; Wessel Du Plessis – Head of Juniors, Kicking & Breakdown Coach; Prieur Le Grange – Technical Advisor; Hendy Seerane – Team Manager; Tshepo Mashigo – Logistics Manager; Limbi Seyani – Sport Scientist; Tayla Chidrawi – Strength and Conditioning; Dr Gerhard Louwrens – Doctor; Claudette Echard – Physiotherapist; Darryn Berry – Physiotherapist
