Watson: Young guns must fire
22 Jun 2006
Western Province will rely heavily on their youngsters when they take on the Pumas in Witbank on Friday.
The side boasts a number of first timers for WP in the Currie Cup. Chumani Booi, Naas Olivier, Robbie Diack, Francois van der Merwe, Attie Winter and Schalk Brits will all making their Currie Cup debut for Province. Reserves Schalk Ferreira and Riaan Vermeulen will also play their first match should they come off the bench.
“A lot has been said about consistency and the forging of partnerships, but I believe that the youngsters deserve a chance as well,” Luke Watson, who will be debuting as captain, told keo.co.za
“For me, I see these exciting youngsters and how passionate they are. They have something to prove, and a man who has something to prove and who is desperate to succeed is very dangerous indeed.”
Despite their inexperience, WP are confident they can get off to a winning start.
“It’s non-negotiable,” explained Watson. “We are not looking at just winning this game, we want to dominate them completely.”
There should be less risk involved in the new gameplan, which aims to bring some balance and stability to a side that is often criticised for being too predictable.
“We are going to play a more varied and conservative game on Friday. We want to get ourselves into a position early on where we can control the momentum of the game.”
The big surprise is the omission of Egon Seconds and Zhahier Ryland, who have both shown their try scoring prowess in the past. The other interesting move is the playing of Peter Grant at centre, with Naas Olivier at first receiver.
WP team to play Pumas:
15. Gio Aplon 14. Chumani Booi 13. Corne Uys 12. Peter Grant 11. Joe Pietersen 10. Naas Olivier 9. Bolla Conradie 8. Robbie Diack 7 Gerrie Britz 6. Luke Watson (c) 5. Andries Bekker 4. Francois Van Der Merwe 3. Attie Winter 2. Schalk Brits 1. JD Moller
Subs: 16. Huia Edmonds 17. Schalk Ferreira 18. Riaan Vermeulen 19. Justin Melck 20. Neil De Kock 21. Sarel Potgieter 22. Gus Theron
By Jon Cardinelli
31 Comments
22 Jun 2006, 16:53 pm
dan qe qe
22 Jun 2006, 16:59 pm
No Luke, all the old **** players need to get fired. Why is Gus still on the bench? And who the hell is Robbie Diack? Probably a family member of someone on the WP Board.
22 Jun 2006, 16:59 pm
bliksem,
You are a very bored little man
22 Jun 2006, 17:02 pm
Riaan Vermeulen, waarvandaan kom hy?
22 Jun 2006, 17:04 pm
Theron made the Bench, what a shame, I like the fact that there’s some new names, will be interesting to see them perform. Also didnt think Booi would start before Rhyland, still a dangerous looking back combination even though it lacks slightly in the centre’s, but Grant will offer Stability with the second option for the boot.
22 Jun 2006, 17:08 pm
Manne, julle moetie die Pumas onderskat nie. Daai manne is geharde spelers in die vrek kou witbank.
Moet nie verbaas wees as dinge verkeerd loop vir daai sagte klein backs van Province nie.
22 Jun 2006, 17:16 pm
Here we go again.
Time to stock up on the heart pills.
22 Jun 2006, 17:18 pm
Not that bad!!
22 Jun 2006, 18:02 pm
!!dab taht toN
22 Jun 2006, 18:03 pm
Gio had a great sevens season. Lets see if he plays just as good at the 15 mans game.
22 Jun 2006, 18:03 pm
Whashappening?
22 Jun 2006, 18:09 pm
Guns: Young Watson must fire.
22 Jun 2006, 18:20 pm
Fire: Watson fire must young.
22 Jun 2006, 18:21 pm
Watson for the boks!
22 Jun 2006, 18:32 pm
!skob eht rof nostaW
22 Jun 2006, 18:33 pm
Sorry, I’m bored.
22 Jun 2006, 18:36 pm
Eish hopefully this lot can change my mind about the powers that be at Newlands and their signing prowess which has clearly been brilliant.
Try play with some heart….
22 Jun 2006, 18:37 pm
heart rum
22 Jun 2006, 19:00 pm
Eish
22 Jun 2006, 20:18 pm
Easy win for Province. It’s the injury list that wil determine whether it was a successful outing.
22 Jun 2006, 21:03 pm
Well, Province have everything to prove once again this season. At least we are not starting against Natal or the bulls, then again …
22 Jun 2006, 22:23 pm
Fire Watson.
23 Jun 2006, 07:40 am
I really hope Sarel Potgieter gets a run. He is a great tallent.
23 Jun 2006, 07:58 am
Fantastic! Can’t believe they listened to me about Olivier at flyhalf and Grant at inside centre!
Hard luck for Seconds and Ryland – they’re good players.
23 Jun 2006, 08:32 am
Hier kom ‘n ding , nou gaan ons sien of province iewers gaan kom hierdie jaar. Lyk na ‘n goeie span op papier. Sterkte my span , 100% agter julle !
23 Jun 2006, 08:40 am
Re Staal comment 4
Vermeulen is a young prop. He is huge, not sure how good though. He played firsts and craven week at Grey and Free State, in the same front row as Bismarck du Plessis and Jan Toit van Jaarsveld – the potential is obviously there. (Andries Strauss was the centre and captain of the same year, and of course, Ruaan Pienaar was the scrummie lol)
23 Jun 2006, 08:56 am
GO WP.Kom nou manne, julle kan dit doen!
23 Jun 2006, 09:08 am
#25 wtf, “lyk na n goeie span op papier..” what have you bn smoking, or was the comment made whilst ur brokeback maatjie was groping you..
thats the sheitest looking wp team i have seen in ages… peter grant at 12.. he he and gus on bench.. he he… go PUMAS!!
23 Jun 2006, 09:14 am
Spokie
Ek glo ons gaan hierdie jaar deurkom. Solank Mallett nie te veel inmeng nie. Kobus en die afrigting span moet sorg dat alles reg gaan op die veld. As Mallett elke keer gaan inmeng dan gaan daar net probleme wees. Maar ek glo ons kan hierdie jaar ‘n verskil maak.
23 Jun 2006, 10:37 am
yes mense!!
Ek gaan vanaand Witbank toe vir die game. Ek is moerse excited en hoop dis ‘n great game. Ek sien uit na die jong talent….Ons is nou weer op dai stadium van jong laaitjies wat uit die bloute kom en naam maak…..dit was nog altyd WP se sterkpunt…so kom ons kyk of hulle dit vanaand weer kan doen
Go province!!!
23 Jun 2006, 11:17 am
i cant believe they are persisting with bolla and de kuk
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