Kenyan Safari for Western Province
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Western Province will take on the Kenyan national team as they build up ahead of the forthcoming Confederation of African Rugy Championships.
This will serve as the final round of African qualifying for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.
No.8 Rayn Smid will captain Western Province with Michael van der Spuy, Devon Williams, Gary van Aswegen, Dylon Frylinck, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Jean Kleyn, Stephan Coetzee and Sti Sithole all boasting Super Rugby experience.
Youngsters EW Viljoen (fullback) and Robert du Preez (flyhalf) – who are still eligible for the Under-19 and Under-21 teams, respectively – will start for Western Province.
Neil Rautenbach, Digby Webb, Lungelo Chonco, Ian Groenewald, Jan Uys, Freddie Muller and Craig Barry were all standout players during the 2014 Varsity Cup or Shield competitions.
The Province team will be coached by Vodacom Cup and Under-21 coach John Dobson, who said: “This really is an exciting opportunity for us, as coaches, and the players to take the Western Province Rugby brand into a country like Kenya.
“We realise that it’s a massive honour and we are heading to Nairobi with the main purpose of winning this match.
"However, I also want the players to learn a bit about the country they are visiting and I have told them to take it all in and enjoy the opportunity.”
On the team selected for the trip, Dobson said: “This is a young team, if I am not mistaken the oldest player is 24 years old.
“The backline has plenty of pace and skill, but we’re particularly excited about EW Viljoen and Robert du Preez – both of whom are young men with bright futures here at Western Province.
“It’s been great to see guys like Sti, Stephan, Jean and Notshe take the step up to Super Rugby this year and we will be relying on them to give us a good platform up front to allow our backs some space to move.”
Next week Western Province will travel to Windhoek to take on the Namibian national team.
The Western Province team to face Kenya: 15 EW Viljoen, 14 Chevandre van Schoor, 13 Pat Howard, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Devon Williams, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Dylon Frylinck, 8 Rayn Smid (captain), 7 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6 Lungelo Chonco, 5 Jean Kleyn, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Justin Ackerman, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Digby Webb, 18 Ian Groenewald, 19 Carel du Preez, 20 Jan Uys, 21 Freddie Muller, 22 Gary van Aswegen, 23 Craig Barry.
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