Ngoza to lead Blue Bulls in friendly against Hino Valke
Former Cheetahs player, Freddy Ngoza, was named the Blue Bulls captain for their Currie Cup warm-up match against the Falcons.
Eighth man Freddy Ngoza will lead the Blue Bulls on Saturday against the Falcons when the two teams meet in a Currie Cup warm-up match at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The former Free State Cheetahs player will make a first start for the home side, but a big number of players in the squad are home-grown and this bodes well for the junior structures of the union.
The team is a good mix between a number of players who excelled in the Blue Bulls junior teams last year, some older hands and a sprinkling of new signings to the union.
Luther Obi (EP Kings) and Ngoza joined this year, while Tony Jantjies is also back in the mix, following a stint in Port Elizabeth.
Coach Hendré Marnitz opted for Manie Libbok at flyhalf and expressed confidence in the 19-year-old’s ability to dictate play.
“The exciting part of coaching this team is the massive potential of these players. Manie was still at school last year, but reads the game like a veteran. These younger guys are very talented and keen to play and express themselves,” Marnitz said.
“I am also keen to see how Freddy goes as captain and player. He shows good leadership in this group and the whole idea of warm-up matches is to see how successful your plays and ideas are. So there will be a number of boxes we want to tick against the Falcons,” Marnitz continued.
There is a good number of u.20 players in the group, including Franco Naudé, JT Jackson, PJ Toerien and Luigy van Jaarsveld, which shows the success of youth development and recruitment, says Xander Janse van Rensburg, high performance manager of the Blue Bulls company (Pty) Ltd.
“The results of our junior teams in recent years and the high number of junior Springboks from our structures are indicative of our ability to develop juniors, so this is pleasing to know they will now also have a chance in Currie Cup rugby. Equally pleasing is the good representative profile of the side, something we are pretty keen to get right at the union,” Janse van Rensburg said.
Kickoff is at 12:20.
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