Preview: Potch Volkies v Potch Gim

 

Gimmies won 20-17 in a tight encounter at home last year and will know that they will have to bring their A-game if they are to knock over their great rivals once again.

 

"This is a Classic Clash and there is no before, only the next game," said Gimmies head coach Pieter Warnich. You can expect anything and everything. It is unpredictable." 

 

Warnich says he has been following the progress of both teams since they were playing against each other at Under-14 level and has a sense of the their strengths and weaknesses.

 

"Since they have been playing from Under-14 level, Gimmies were the team on top on most occasions. Last year we beat them but we know it is going to be tough," he said.

 

Warnich is also confident that his team are up for the challenge this year after a good build-up this week.

 

"Preparations have been good and we do not have major injuries at the moment.

 

"Our training involved a collective effort as you cannot only prepare for scrumming or line-outs. You need to focus your attention on all facets of the game," he added.

 

Potch Volkies coach Johan Herbst on the other hand has not had much luck on the injury front and will be without a number of first choice players for the clash.

 

"We have been struck by some serious injuries and we are still short of five guys for our team. We have been practising whole week with a few new guys to bring them up to speed in the squad," said Herbst.

 

Despite the injuries, Herbst still has a number of talented players available to him. Six of his players are either part of the preliminary squads for North West's Craven Week and Academy Week or are part of the NWU-Puk Under-19 squad.

 

The Volkies coach, who has been coaching for a number years, is expecting another tough encounter with their old rivals.

 

"It is going to be a hard and physical battle and the team that makes the least mistakes will win the game.

 

Volkies have been working hard this week to try and shore up any potential weaknesses that Gimmies might expose on Saturday.

 

"The strong point of our game has been our line-outs, but our kingpin in that area of the game is out. We worked hard this week to try and improve our line-outs sorted out ahead of the game," said Herbst.

 

 

Potch Volkies: 15 Armand Stickling, 14 Nici Heunis, 13 Michael Tolmay, 12 FC de Beer, 11 Zander Kleynhans, 10 Renier Barnard, 9 Charles Louw, 8 Jandre Dreyer, 7 Ruan van Abo, 6 Roche van Aarde, 5 Marko Diedericks, 4 Jurie Heyns, 3 Christo Willemse, 2 Ryno Visagie, 1 Paul Hattingh.

Replacements: 16 Nic Greyling, 17 William de Paiva, 18 Juandre Visser, 19 Dennis Koen, 20 Jandre Steyn, 21 Johann Glover, 22 Gorden Volschenk, 23 Pieter le Roux, 24 Cornal Schoonraad.

 

Coach: Johan Herbst

 

Potch Gimmies: 15 Jaswyn Damon, 14 eduard Schoeman, 13 Inus Vermeulen, 12 GJ Janse v Rensburg, 11 Heinrich Siepker, 10 Casper Dreyer, 9 Jacques Jacobs, 8 Gerhard Steenkamp, 7 Marcel Burger 6 Marnus van der Merwe, 5 Marco van der Berg, 4 Gerbrand le Grange, 3 Otto van der Westhuizen, 2 Llewellen Bezuidenhout, 1 Carloux Ueckermann.

Replacements: 16 Bradley Wood, 17 Martin Linde, 18 Heinrich Coetzee, 19 Chris Steyn, 20 JP Booysen, 21 PC le Roux, 22 Werner Venter, 23 Morne Marais.

 

Coach: Pieter Warnich