The Middelburg confrontation
There is an FNB Classic Clash in Mpumalanga's cold Middelburg with the coal-laden air when excitement in the town heightens as HTS Middelburg's Rooi Bulle take on the men in green. That it is a classic Clash will add lustre to the occasion.
Traditionally it has been a match that the Rooi Bulle win. They are after all perennially one of the strongest teams in the country. But then there was 2009 when the Middies pulled off a huge surprise by winning and an even bigger one by winning by such a large margin – 33-10. It's good to know that an upset is always possible in sport.
This year HTS Middelburg are again strong and are currently ranked 12th on the FNB Top 20. They play much stronger opposition that the Middies do. The Rooi Bulle have beaten EG Jansen, Transvalia, Florida, Zwartkop and Nelspruit once, but lost to them once and drew with Centurion. The Middies had good wins over Potch Gimmies, Hoogenhout and Die Anker. They beat and lost to HTS Welkom and just lost to Hugenote of Springs and Stellenberg, two strong sides.
The captain of the Mpumalanga side at the 2012 Craven Week was Willandré Kotzenberg. He is back on the flank this year, Lock Michael Basson and prop JP Zaayman were also at the 2012 Craven Week.
It could be a fascinating game – 2009 repeated?
The matches will be played at Hoërskool Middelburg.
The Rugby Programme
A Field
08.00: 2nd XV
09.05: Under-15A
10.10: Under-16A
11.30: 1st XV
B Field
08.00: Under-14A
09.05: Under-16B
10.10: 3rd XV
C Field
08.00: 4th XV
09.05: Under-14B
10.10: Under-15B
Teams
HTS Middelburg: 15 Ruan du Plooy, 14 Allen Muller, 13 Lourens Basson, 12 George Fritz, 11 Jan Rens, 10 Lohan Bennett, 9 Rowan Gouws, 8 Christo de Jager, 7 Waldo Morris, 6 Willandré Kotzenberg (captain), 5 Michael Basson, 4 Petrus du Busson, 3 Stephan Liebenberg, 2 Nelius Smit, 1 JP Zaayman
Replacements: 16 Ruan Groenewald, 17 Kyle van Aswegen, 18 Kyle Brits, 19 Chris Robbertse, 20 Stephan Enslin
Hoërskool Middelburg: 15 Lunga Mahlangu, 14 Jan Wieger-Wijma, 13 Ruben Fourie, 12 Christo Meyer, 11 Bennie Mashabane, 10 Jacques Bruce (vice-captain), 9 Xander Kritzinger, 8 Louw de Waal, 7 Joubert du Toit, 6 Hansie Naudé, 5 Uys Ehlers, 4 Christopher van Leeuwen, 3 Dewald Pretorius, 2 Henru Joubert, 1 Willem Steenkamp (captain)
Replacements: 16 Reinier Pienaar, 17 Willie Botha, 18 CJ Pretorius, 19 Dylan McKechnie, 20 Francois Middel, 21 Phillip Grobler, 22 Jan Cornelius, 23 Vusi Blaauw, 24 Zothane Ngcobo, 25 Thulane MkhontoDate: Staurday, 25 May 2013
Date: Saturday, 25 May 2013
Kick-off: 11.30
Venue: Hoërskool Middelburg
Expected weather conditions: Sunny with a high of 20°C, dropping to 7°C.
