Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will feature at fullback for Western Province, with six players set to make their debut in the Currie Cup against the Sharks on Sunday.
Local club stars Fazeel Robertson and Labib Kannemeyer, as well as flank Paul de Villiers, lock Gary Porter, loose forward Armand Maritz and utility back Edward Coulson will also look to help WP add to their two away wins at the start of the Currie Cup when they take on the Durbanites at Kings Park.
Wing Robertson, from St Georges RFC in Strand and scrumhalf Kannemeyer from SK Walmers are part of a group of eight local club players identified by WP Rugby’s High Performance Club Rugby programme. Experienced centre Juan de Jongh will captain the team.
Head of the programme Jerome Paarwater said that it is rewarding to see these players make the step-up to their senior debut.
“There has been a lot of work that went into identifying and developing our top club rugby talent, so to see Fazeel and Labib take their opportunity like this is fantastic,” he said.
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“Both players have flourished as part of the professional environment and this just shows what can be achieved if we focus on making the most of the considerable talent in our club system.
De Villiers and Maritz are the last two captains of the Western Province U20 team, while Porter and Coulson are also products of the system having attended the WP Rugby Institute and represented WP U19 in the past.
Head coach John Dobson said that it is encouraging to see more depth being created by both the integration of the club players and young players coming through the system.
“The club players have really impressed and both Fazeel and Labib deserve this opportunity. It is also really good to see our junior system bringing quality players through as well.
“These players will have some experienced heads around them, with two Springboks in our starting line-up, so we are looking forward to seeing what these combinations can produce in Durban on Sunday,” he said.
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WP – 15 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 14 Fazeel Robertson, 13 Juan de Jongh (c), 12 Bruce Sherwood, 11 Duncan Saal, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Connor Evans, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Subs: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Dylan de Leeuw, 20 Louwan Horn, 21 Armand Maritz, 22 Labib Kennemeyer, 23 Eward Coulson.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images