Mighty boost for winless NMMU
Mighty Elephants centre Braam Gerber will start in the No.12 shirt for FNB NMMU in a must-win Varsity Cup clash against FNB UJ in Johannesburg this coming Monday.
Gerber replaces Luvuyo Mhlobiso at inside centre in the only change to their 23-man squad that did duty against Pukke this past week – going down 24-31 after a spirited display from the bottom-placed side.
The Men from Port Elizabeth have just two games remaining in the 2010 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International and will be hoping to pick up some wins – either this week (v UJ), or against TUT next week – in order to avoid that dreaded promotion/relegation game later this year.
And with star men Willem Laubscher and Luso Booi (pictured) lining up in the backline, not to mention the likes of JP Kellerman, Thomasau Forbes and Werner Kapp starting up front once again, the Madibas can at least count on some crucial selection continuity against UJ, who need to win on Monday in order to remain in semifinal contention.
“We are trying to get more of a fluid and expansive game going, so we are hoping to work towards that for Monday,” explained Oom Kolie Brandt, the NMMU head coach, to varsitycup.co.za.
“It bothers me tremendously that we can’t seem to finish off teams at the moment… but the guys seem to be rushing things a bit when they get into their opponents’ 22.
“Hopefully we can put that right against UJ,” he added, “but I have no doubt that this team is developing and that I can take the next step with them.”
The FNB NMMU team: 15 Carl van Niekerk, 14 Oscar Mazaka, 13 Hugo van Heerden, 12 Braam Gerber, 11 Williams Heydenrych, 10 Willem Laubscher, 9 Luso Booi (captain), 8 Samuel Borsaah, 7 JP Kellerman, 6 Thomasau Forbes, 5 Mathew Lutge, 4 Jannie Fourie, 3 Pierre Hammand, 2 Werner Kapp, 1 Tyron Williams.
Replacements: 16 Chariel van Jaarsveld, 17 Thabiso Mgomezulu, 18 De Wet De Lange, 19 Kemsley Wesso, 20 Wade Roos, 21 Christopher Juries, 22 Stefan de Klerk, 23 Hanre Basson.
Head coach: Kolie Brandt
Date: Monday, March 8
Venue: UJ Stadium
Kick-off: 6.30pm (Live on SuperSport One)
Referee: Matt Kemp
