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LOUIS BOTHA het Hentie Cilliers van Virginia as die kampioen van die Kimberley Express Jim Fouché sewes-toernooi in Bloemfontein onttroon. Louis Botha het in ‘n opwindende eindstryd 40-33 koning gekraai om die titel te verower.

Die kampioen se uitstaande speler was sonder twyfel Sharwin Cupido. Indien daar ‘n speler van die toernooi aangewys sou word, sou hy sonder twyfel met hierdie eerbewys weggestap het.

In 2013 was daar nie ‘n toernooi deur Jim Fouché aangebied nie. Hentie Cilliers het in 2012 se eindstryd vir Hoërskool Voortrekker van Bethlehem naelskraaps 29-28 verslaan.

Louis Botha het bo-aan Groep A geëndig nadat hy vir Landboudal (31-5), Wilgerivier (21-5) en HTS Sasolburg (42-10) verslaan het. Die span van die Rosestad het daarna in die halfeindstryd vir Jim Fouché 31-5 uit die pad gevee. Die gasheer moes met die derde plek tevrede wees nadat hy Wilgerivier van Frankfort 17-7 in dié uitspeelstryd uitoorlé het.

Henties het vir Witteberg (38-10), Jim Fouché (24-17) en Kimberley Boys’ High (62-0) in sy drie groepwedstryde geklop. In sy halfeindstryd het hy Wilgerivier 17-0 uitgeskakel. Kimberley Boys’ High het Zastron in die toernooi vervang nadat laasgenoemde onttrek het. Die span van die Diamantstad het die vorige week op die Koffiefontein sewes-toernooi met die kroon weggestap.

Die span van Virginia se Jonathan April en Jaywinn Juries was uitmuntend op die aanval, terwyl die span se Damian May se fisieke teenwoordigheid ook baie vir sy span beteken het. In die eindstryd het Louis Botha gou 21-0 voorgeloop. Die besoekers het egter terrug geveg en die telling 21-elk gelyk getrek waarna Louis Botha as oorwinnaars van die veld gestap het.

Wilgerivier het Landboudal 27-21 in hulle groepwedstryd geklop wat die span van Frankfort sekerlik ietwat met ‘n glimlag sou gelaat het. Landboudal het Wilgerivier verlede jaar as kampioen van die Kovsiestreek-kompetisie se Irawa-liga (vir kleinskole) onttroon. Volksblad is ‘n medeborg van die kompetisie.
Vir die span van Frankfort het Gerrie Muller, MJ Lourens en Stefan Bierman goed tydens die toernooi vertoon.

Al die uitslae:

Groep A: Jim Fouché 62 Kimberley Boys’ High 0; Hentie Cilliers 38 Witteberg 10; Hentie Cilliers 24 Jim Fouché 17; Witteberg 46 Kimberley Boys’ High 0; Jim Fouché 21 Witteberg 12; Hentie Cilliers 62 Kimberley Boys’ High 0.

Groep B: Louis Botha 31 Landboudal 5; Wilgerivier 22 HTS Sasolburg 10; Louis Botha 21 Wilgerivier 5; Landboudal 24 HTS Sasolburg 0; Louis Botha 42 HTS Sasolburg 10; Wilgerivier 27 Landboudal 21.

Uitspeelstryde: Witteberg 52 HTS Sasolburg 0; Landboudal 63 Kimberley Boys’ High 0; HTS Sasolburg 34 Kimberley Boys’ High 0; Witteberg 29 Landboudal 7; Jim Fouché 17 Wilgerivier 7.

Halfeindstryde: Hentie Cilliers 17 Wilgerivier 0; Louis Botha 31 Jim Fouché 5.

Eindstryd: Louis Botha 40 Hentie Cilliers 33.

South Africa Under-20 coach, Dawie Theron, kicked off his preparations for the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship when he explained his training and planning schedule to a large group of selected players in Johannesburg on Thursday.

The Junior Springbok coach was accompanied by members of the SARU Development department and the SARU Mobi-Unit during his visit where he presented the preparation plan for the 2014 JWC tournament. The event will be hosted by New Zealand for the first time from June 2 to 20 in Auckland.

Players from the Golden Lions, Vodacom Blue Bulls, Platinum Leopards, Toyota Free State Cheetahs, EP Kings and The Cell C Sharks attended the session. The group will hold a similar one-day camp next Thursday in Stellenbosch for the DHL Western Province-based players.

Theron has already confirmed three training camps for the identified players, which will include a series of trial matches at Stellenbosch and a three-match series against Argentina U20 in Cape Town.
Speaking after the get together on Thursday, Theron said he was satisfied with the outcome of the exercise in Johannesburg.

“This was the first time that, in the build up to the JWC tournament, we hosted all the SA Under-20 hopefuls in one location to share with them our objectives for the tournament,” said Theron.

“Next week we will make the same presentation to the Western Province-based players. On conclusion of that meeting, we would then have shared our vision for the SA U20 team to the large group of players who were selected to join our training camps, said Theron.

The Junior Springbok coach said he was excited by the enthusiasm of the players when he met them on Thursday.

“I am really pleased and excited by what I’ve seen from the players. They were very good in their interaction with our representatives who delivered their respective presentations. For me it is an exciting prospect that all of them are so enthusiastic and have a huge desire be part of our SA Under-20 brand and to play international rugby.

“We’ve made it clear to them that we will use our structures to monitor their progress closely from now until next the camp in Stellenbosch, which will also serve as our trials. Each one of them will be loaded onto our Footprint monitoring system, and we will interact with them on a regular basis going forward,” explained Theron.

South Africa won the bronze medal in last year’s JWC in France, and won the title for the first time in 2012 before a tournament-record crowd at Newlands.

Issued by SARU Corporate Affairs

Will any of the other six teams at the annual Jim Fouche Sevens tournament have it in them to upset Louis Botha of Bloemfontein and Hentie Cilliers of Virginia? The two teams will without a doubt be the favourites to be crowned champions of the tournament in the City of Roses. 

Hentie Cilliers will be lead by South African u16 Green Squad member of 2012, Jaywinn Juries. The team’s other key players will be Jonathan April and Sylvester Lewis. Louis Botha has a formidable team which is led by Free State Craven Week centre of 2013, Ali Mgijima. 

Besides Mgijima they also have more than capable players in Patrick Mbangi, Sheldon Meyer, Dale Koopman and Sharwin Cupido. Wilgerivier of Frankfort lost to both finilists in their only two defeats during last week’s Voortrekker Sevens in Bethlehem. The Trekkers and Middelburg of Mpumalanga played each other in the final with the latter coming out on top. 

Wilgerivier’s Gerrie Muller is one of the exciting players in the squad. He will be one of the team from Frankfort’s key players during their season. The champions of the Koffiefontein Sevens, Kimberley Boys’ High will also be in action in Bloemfontein. They replaced Zastron in Pool A. The hosts are drawn with Hentie Cilliers, Witteberg of Bethlehem in this pool. 

Landboudal of Jacobsdal, Louis Botha, Wilgerivier and HTS Sasolburg will contest the other pool. The team from Sasolburg is coached by Spanjool Wessels and Schikkie Geldenhuys. Wessels coached Wilgerivier’s first XV with Frans Crous untill last year, while Geldenhuys coached Schweizer-Reneke’s first XV. 

The Pools: 

Pool A: Jim Fouche, Hentie Cilliers, Witteberg, Kimberley Boys’ High. 

Pool B: Louis Botha, Wilgerivier, HTS Sasolburg, Landboudal. 

The teams: 

Jim Fouche: JP van der Westhuizen, Hanno Spies, JP Steyn, Marco Vermeulen, Tiaan Schutte, Marcel Briedenhann, Daneel Stone, Brendan Peyper, Tumie Phuroe, Sheldon Jansen, Ruan Wasserman, Cornelius Botha. 

HTS Sasolburg: Riaan Nel, Juandre Pretorius, James Gouws, Dyllon Jones, Kenny Pheleu, Braidy Wagman, Pieter de Ru, Heinrich van Tonder, Tyron du Plooy, Rudi Cilliers. 

Landboudal: Morne Kleynhans, Willie Mans, Teubes Brits, Dirk Heyman, Guillaume Oberholster (captain), Erick Reinecke, Petri Fourie, Kat Mabaleng, Andre Cornelissen, CD Wilke. 

Wilgerivier: MJ Lourens, Stean Marais, Jan-Hendrik Muller, Stefan Bierman, Mils Kruger, Gerrie Muller, Alre van Heerden, GJ Janse van Rensburg, Schalk Wilkinson, Ricardo Frade. 

Witteberg: Stephan Maree, Liamier James, Pieter Jordaan, Louis Spershott, Tsepi Mofokeng, Darryl Wilson, Aristeo Desiderio, Renier de Kock, Wiaan Pittendrich, Gerhard van Huysteen, Christiaan de Jongh, Reinhardt Chapman. 

Hentie Cilliers: Nathan Kemp, Melton Wentzel, Damian May, Jaywinn Juries, Sylvester Lewis, Luciano Jones, Jonathan April, Siyabonga Luwaca, Siyamamkela Ngxesha, Ezrick Alexander, Benji Muller, Jerome Lottering. 

Louis Botha: Victor Maruping, Ali Mgijima, Gopolang Molefe, Patrick Mbangi, Sheldon Meyer, Dale Koopman, Yamkelani Ngodwana, Molefe Monama, Sharwin Cupido, Ewan Adams, Qhama Masiza, Christiaan Jeandre.