Stayers & Leavers: The form men
Playing selector is always a fun exercise. With that in mind, we have had a stab at selecting the form players in the 2010 Varsity Cup up till now – from the four teams that qualified for the semifinals (Stayers XV) and the four teams that have been knocked out (Leavers XV).
Of course, selection is never an exact science, but we have tried to be as balanced as follows – consulting a few Varsity Cup coaches, as well as some pundits from around the country.
In the end, it actually worked out quite nicely; with the Stayers XV reflecting the Maties’ dominance in the league phase of the tournament and the Leavers XV showing just how unlucky UJ were to have missed out on the semifinals once again.
In all, the Maties have six players in the Stayers XV, followed by UCT with four, the Pukke with three and Shimlas with two – including two of their star loose forwards; Boom Prinsloo (pictured) and Hanno Pieterse. (Although Prinsloo has played at No.8 this year, we have moved him to the flank for the purposes of our selection.)
Amongst the Leavers XV selection, meanwhile, UJ have eight players. Tuks have three players in the mix, with TUT and NMMU both providing two players.
The Varsity Cup form teams – at the end of Round Seven:
The Stayers XV: 15 Jurgen Visser (Maties), 14 Danie Poolman (Maties), 13 Tim Whitehead (UCT), 12 Wouter Watermeyer (Pukke), 11 Marcello Sampson (UCT), 10 Conrad Hoffmann (Maties), 9 Andries Mahoney (Pukke), 8 JJ Gagiano (UCT), 7 Hanno Pieterse (Shimlas), 6 Boom Prinsloo (Shimlas), 5 Martin Muller (UCT), 4 Hugo Kloppers (Maties), 3 Lourens Adriaanse (Maties), 2 Stoffel Duvenage (Pukke), 1 Johan Roets (Maties).
The Leavers XV: 15 Justin van Staden (Tuks), 14 Dirk Dippenaar (Tuks), 13 Clinton de Klerk (UJ), 12 Franco Booysen (Tuks), 11 Lola Waka (UJ), 10 Ryno Luus (UJ), 9 Luso Booi (NMMU), 8 Hennie Killian (UJ), 7 Emile Verster (TUT), 6 JP Janse van Rensburg (UJ), 5 Dewald van Deventer (TUT), 4 Marnus van Huyssteen (UJ), 3 Clint van Niekerk (UJ), 2 Edgar Marutlulle (UJ), 1 Tyron Williams (NMMU).
* What are your thoughts on these teams?
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