New-look UJ aims for sevens glory
"We have a very young but exciting side" – head coach.
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) will be aiming to strengthen its position in tertiary rugby when its new-look sevens side runs onto the field for the Varsity Sports tournament in Camps Bay, Cape Town, on Friday 29 November.
According to coach Freddie Grobler, only four players remained from the team that finished a respectable fifth in the inaugural competition last year.
“It always thrills me when new talent stands up and be counted. We have a very young but exciting side.”
Freddie says the likes of fullback Tommy Damba, who was part UJ’s 15-man squad that beat Maties in the final of the University Sport South Africa (USSA) tournament this year, will be a welcome addition.
“Although Tommy comes from a different code, he’s explosive and sevens suits his attributes. I can’t wait to see him in action.”
He also named U/19 players Aphiwe Dyantyi and Leon Potgieter as players to watch.
“Aphiwe has a real feel for sevens, while Leon’s speed and power mean he will play an important role for us.”
Freddie says the depth of talent in the squad and hard work made up for any lack of experience on the youngsters’ part.
“We started early with our preparations and played five tournaments so far this year. It will be a very tough competition but I’m confident that we will do well.”
He says his side has trained hard for the 10-team tournament, which was won by Maties last year.
“We back ourselves to do well but Maties and Pukke always will be strong as they play several sevens tournaments throughout the year. We could see their advantage last year.”
Freddie says the three-day competition in Camps Bay also would provide an opportunity to gauge the opposition for the USSA sevens in George the following week. UJ lost out on the latter title in the dying moments of the 2012 final against Maties.
“It would be great to be champions in both tournaments. Our goal is to be the best in the country and we are working hard to achieve that.”
Referring to their successes in the 15-man format, Freddie says he believes things are moving in the right direction.
However he adds that good performances in the Varsity Cup and Varsity Sports Sevens are becoming increasingly important.
With sevens rugby being an Olympic discipline in 2016, Freddie says the televised Varsity Sports matches gave fantastic exposure to players who aspired to become BlitzBokke. Morné Laubscher will captain the side, with Adriaan Juffrou Vermeulen as his vice-captain.
