The Junior (under-19 and under-21) Currie Cup seasons have already reached the halfway mark. The Blue Bulls finally seem t o be getting it right at under-19 level. This year’s under-19 team is undefeated and leads the way in their age-group, which the Bulls haven’t won since they implemented their huge recruitment drive under head scout Xander Janse van Rensburg. Much time and money went into compiling the Bulls teams of 2010, 2011 and 2012 and each year they had to settle for second place. Western Province win the title in 2010 and 2012 while the Golden Lions claimed the honours in 2011.
With that 2011 title in mind, one would have expected to see the Lions somewhere near the top of the under-21 pile in 2013. Instead they are down in fifth place, outside the playoff places at this stage. The Lions have lost a few influential players from that 2011 which this is factor but they also relied heavily on a big physical presence back then and have since been caught up in size by their opponents. Province who did not even make the 2011 under-19 final are going along really well in first place and certainly the blend with some of the 2012 champions team has turned them into a winning side. For the record, the Bulls are the reigning under-21 champions.
I had the good fortune of being able to attend the Sharks versus Bulls junior games last Friday. At junior level these games make for interesting contests because for one the players are obviously just as hungry for success as their senior counterparts and because it’s also a battle between two top Unions that have the same end goal in mind, namely produce players for the senior team, but choosing very different paths to get to this goal. The Bulls try to bring in 40 or so top, top players to cover all the positions while the Sharks are happy to hand out just 10 or so contracts and leave it to their Sharks Academy bring in the rest of the talent and with that run the risk of not having quality depth in a particular position. During the first part of the season, most of the Bulls players see very little action, while players affiliated to the Sharks are trialed during a local under-20 club rugby season, which presents opportunities for players to earn a place in the provincial age-group team even if they have no contract or financial assistance.
So when the under-19’s ran onto the field, my first impression was that the teams looked like they belonged to different age-groups. The Bulls have some big boys in their camp. However once the game got underway I was so impressed by the Sharks under-19s. They are so well organised, disciplined and committed. The coaches Deon Kayser, Albert van den Berg and Sean Erasmus deserve to be commended for the way the team which is largely a collection of unknown players operate as a unit. The size advantage of the Bulls was dissolved by an outstanding defensive display by the home team. For the most part this was a dead even game. The Sharks even lead 19-13 at one stage. A second lengthy injury break seemed to turn the tide in the Bulls favour. The Bulls had more depth, which they used well. I thought Chris Massyn the Monnas loose-forward was very good off the bench. The Sharks lineout work also seemed to let them down towards the end and they were starved of ball. In the end the Bulls deserved to win it 28-19 but it was a very good battle. I don’t want to blame the Bulls players but my feeling is that there is some much potential in their under-19 teams over the years that never gets utilised because of the very one-dimensional Heyneke Meyer rugby style that their coaching staff enforces starting at this entry level. Nevertheless I really enjoyed the play of their halfback combination of JP Smith (Queens) and Kobus Marais (Klofies) on this occasion. They mixed it up well with a bit vision included. For me though the undoubted star on display was the Sharks flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis. His kick-run-pass are all off the charts. He always looked in full control during this game. I think the true test of a good flyhalf is that ability to create a kind of time vacuum which makes it seem like he has extra seconds to do things and JL certainly possesses this quality. My advice for anyone living in the Durban area is to get down to Kings Park and watch this youngster. He is really good.
The Sharks under-21’s showed a lot of character in their good win come from behind win over the Bulls. At 6-15 down at the break, it was a frustrating half that was put behind them with things like poor passes and stupid little kicks out of hand that got them nowhere adding to the agony. In the second half, the Sharks cut out the errors. The Bulls in fact made the crucial mistakes in this half. The worst for the visitors was two costly unforgivable knock-ons virtually on the Sharks tryline. This ultimately cost them the game as they were unable to score any points in the second half. The moment of the afternoon was the winning try in this game. Former Maritzburg College scrummy Stefan Ungerer who quite a few people will still remember from his running into space exploits for College against Glenwood back in 2010, something we did not see him do at the Junior World Championship, proved that he had not lost that magic. In this game Ungerer sold a dummy on the right and went through a gap that would not have been there for a slower player. Once through he fed to Westville Old Boy Tyler Fisher, who needed to draw and pass to one of the two players on his outside to ensure a certain try but failed miserable in this decision-making department, chosing instead to try and bounce the last-line defender out the way. Fisher got that part right but lost his go-forward and the window to make the pass in , as the players outside him had now overrun the him. The cover defense was about to gobble up this linebreak but the fast reacting Ungerer had got back to his feet quickly and was again on hand, this time as a second wave support runner to collect the pass from Fisher and race in for a memorable try in the corner. The Sharks won it 19-15 in the end. It was great entertainment value.
This weekend its the Bulls versus the Leopards, the Sharks against Border and two Western Province teams trying to get their first wins against the Free State.
TABLE
| # | UNDER-19 TEAM | P | W | PTS | # | UNDER-21 TEAM | P | W | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Bulls | 6 | 6 | 28 | 1 | Western Province | 6 | 5 | 24 | |
| 2 | Golden Lions | 6 | 5 | 24 | 2 | Blue Bulls | 6 | 4 | 20 | |
| 3 | Sharks | 6 | 4 | 18 | 3 | Sharks | 6 | 4 | 20 | |
| 4 | Leopards | 6 | 3 | 18 | 4 | Free State | 6 | 4 | 19 | |
| 5 | Western Province | 6 | 1 | 10 | 5 | Golden Lions | 6 | 3 | 16 | |
| 6 | Free State | 6 | 1 | 8 | 6 | Leopards | 6 | 1 | 6 | |
| 7 | Border | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Border | 6 | 0 | 1 |
RESULTS
| Day | Month | Home Team | u19 | u21 | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Jul | Leopards | 14 – 61 | 17 – 59 | Blue Bulls |
| 13 | Jul | Border | 24 – 32 | 31 – 53 | Sharks |
| 13 | Jul | Free State | 18 – 18 | 18 – 16 | Western Province |
| 19 | Jul | Sharks | 13 – 21 | 17 – 24 | Golden Lions |
| 20 | Jul | Border | 13 – 29 | 15 – 32 | Free State |
| 20 | Jul | Western Province | 27 – 28 | 55 – 10 | Leopards |
| 26 | Jul | Leopards | 36 – 15 | 26 – 17 | Border |
| 27 | Jul | Golden Lions | 26 – 14 | 23 – 25 | Free State |
| 27 | Jul | Western Province | 10 – 34 | 14 – 6 | Blue Bulls |
| 2 | Aug | Leopards | 27 – 34 | 23 – 24 | Golden Lions |
| 3 | Aug | Border | 7 – 56 | 14 – 66 | Blue Bulls |
| 3 | Aug | Free State | 31 – 55 | 25 – 36 | Sharks |
| 9 | Aug | Leopards | 17 – 24 | 18 – 62 | Sharks |
| 9 | Aug | Blue Bulls | 15 – 10 | 26 – 20 | Golden Lions |
| 10 | Aug | Western Province | 69 – 0 | 38 – 20 | Border |
| 16 | Aug | Blue Bulls | 56 – 21 | 40 – 27 | Free State |
| 17 | Aug | Border | 3 – 19 | 16 – 45 | Golden Lions |
| 17 | Aug | Western Province | 19 – 25 | 20 – 3 | Sharks |
| 23 | Aug | Sharks | 19 – 28 | 19 – 15 | Blue Bulls |
| 23 | Aug | Free State | 16 – 34 | 40 – 29 | Leopards |
| 24 | Aug | Golden Lions | 31 – 26 | 26 – 53 | Western Province |
| 30 | Aug | Blue Bulls | Leopards | ||
| 31 | Aug | Sharks | Border | ||
| 31 | Aug | Western Province | Free State |
48-12 to Bulls U19. Second half was disrupted with a serious injury to a Leopards player and a yellow card for scrumming. Good result though.
@Woltrui: wollie i see on the SArugby site they give the scores as u21s bulls won 48-33 and the u19s bulls won 48-12
@All Black: Thanks All Black!
Any results available on the games between the Bulls and Leopards?
@QC86: About Chris de Beer, I think a lot of his personality rubs off on this Sharks team. He is the right sort of guy to lead. Big hearted player. I also thought Ray Williams showed good upperbody strength in the contacts during the first half.
I also agree Wiehan Heys, the no.4 not a conventional looking lock but apart from a couple of handling errors, he was sublime.
As for the flank Dylan Nel, so good to see a Northwood boy coming through. He has flown under the radar up until this season. From what I saw he’s a better choice than Bondesio
The sad moment was centre Neil Maritz being carted off. He looks like a quality player but I doubt he will see anymore action this season.
@QC86: Yes Maks being placed under pressure by Andrew B has been a talking point in my whatsapp group this week. A very surprising outcome considering that van Dyk has the reputation of being able to front up while Beerwinkel is regarded as a bit of a slacker.
@QC86: That would be very disappointing if it is the case.
@CapeMan: He is injured,spoke to JP in Durbs and it sounds like a hip,when Josh left school he was held together with tape so i am not to sure about long he will play for,very sad.@Ploegskaar: just read the u19 team sheet and i see your flyhalf is playing 15 on saturday,i hope that is a typo
@QC86: What ever happened to the Queens 10 who should also be at the bulls u19, Josh Stander? He was billed as one of the top schoolboy rugby players last year and now nothing? Please tell me he is just injured and has not been released by the bulls?!
@QC86: Don’t know about the hairstyle, but I certainly have better skills
Instead of a friendly tip-tackle you may have just earned yourself a uncomfortable bone cruncher to the chest at a future 10’s event 
@Ploegskaar:He has got a very kak hairstyle,might be a clone of yours.
Nice to see the best WP SBR fly in 2012 getting a deserved mention here. You said it Beet, the keyword is time, quality player with the full skill set IMO.
@Woltrui: I have never seen him play flyhalf,lutz might know ,more his age group
Beet i also flew up to Durbs and watched the u19 and u21 games was nice to see a lot of the academy boys watching,you right Ungerer had a massive game and so did no4 lock,loose forward D Nel was also very busy ,Max battled in the scrums tho,but Allan scrummed well,could not believe Beerwinkel would push max arround 
In the u19 game i enjoyed Cris de Beer’s captaincy and as you say that flyhalf was very good.
@Woltrui: With all the 10’s either injured or playing higher up he gets the nod. Has played there a few times before. Natural ball player.
Thank you Beet. Interesting article. I see JP Smith has been picked as flyhalf for the Bulls U/19 team for this afternoons game against the Leopards. Maybe Lutz or one of the Queens bloggers can comment on that choice. I know the kid played no 9 for Queens.