Captain's Profile: Gordon Everard
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St.Andrews College are preparing for their local Grahamstown derby as they take on rivals Graeme College in a classic clash on Saturday.
Gordon Everard will lead the St.Andrews first XV and he feels "honoured" and "privileged" to be at the helm of such a prestigious school.
"I feel honoured and obviously privileged to lead a team such as St. Andrew’s College, especially in upholding the traditions and legacy that was left by those before me.
"Being captain of such a school with its immense history comes with a sense of responsibility and accountability," said the noble St.Andrews skipper.
The flank who stands in at 182cm and weighs a sizeable 90kg sees his strengths as a player in providing front-foot ball for the backline by using his size and muscle with big ball carries.
"I see my main strengths as a ball carrier, and taking the game over the advantage line."
The loose forward is celebrating his second year in the first XV and the highlight of his career was winning his first cap at the highest level for the school.
The St.Andrews team is reasonably young this year with minimal caps amongst them, although there are one or two key players with 20 plus first XV appearances. The team is suffering two key players through injury, however Everard trusts the talented replacements.
"We have some able replacements and we are all looking to make an impact on Saturday’s match."
"We are expecting to have a tough game over the weekend"
"We know that they will be especially motivated and we will have to be at our best to achieve a positive outcome."
Everard's message during the week has been to focus around keeping their structure even when the team is under pressure and making sure that the boys communicate clearly on defence.
"My main message to the players has been to remain focused on their roles and being aware of the fact that we are playing a team who is desperate to beat us," Everard explained.
Everard wants to continue his studies at the Universiyt of Cape Town towards a Business Science degree, and hopes to play for the UCT Under-20 team.
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