Former Hoërskool Florida pupil of 2007 and scrumhalf Jacques Pretorius will lead a new-look University of Johannesburg (UJ) squad into the FNB Varsity Cup rugby tournament, which starts nationwide on Monday evening 3 February.
The 24-year-old captain, who has been a member of the FNB UJ squad for the past four years, says his team is raring to go for the prestigious tertiary competition.
“We have strong players, we have trained hard and we are excited to get Varsity Cup started,” says Pretorius.
The Johannesburg-based team kicks off the competition with a tough away draw against reigning champions Tuks, who eliminated them in the semifinal round last year.
Despite this, Pretorius says his men are feeling confident and will not be deterred by last year’s results.
“We are focused on what we do now and not on last year. It’s a new team, new strength and new leader, and this all counts in our favour.”
The transport management student, who was UJ’s USSA Player of the Year last year, takes over the captaincy from Justin Wheeler – a former Hoërskool Bastion (Witpoortjie in Roodepoort) pupil.
“As far as my captaincy goes, it’s important that I lead by example. I cannot expect the guys to follow me if I wouldn’t do the exact same thing for each of them.”
He will be guided in his new role by Werner Janse van Rensburg, who takes over the coaching duties from long-time head Hugo van As.
Pretorius says Janse van Rensburg, who previously coached the Golden Lions Craven Week side, played an important part in UJ’s regime change.
“Werner has fresh ideas and he’s very approachable and open-minded, so I’m excited to see what this new dynamic brings this year.”
The Roodepoort resident says his players are already a strong unit, which would stand them in good stead throughout the tournament.
“Through sticking together we are going to bring out the best in each other.”
The university team started their Varsity Cup preparations earlier this month with a round of warm-up games against the Shimlas, Wits, TUT and Centurion Rugby Club.
Pretorius says that these pre-season fixtures are designed to test various player combinations rather than focusing on the final result.
“Talking about wins and losses this early in the season is just bad luck. We concentrate on the smaller aspects within the game and where we need to focus our strengths.”
He says their goal for Varsity Cup is “win, win, win”.
“We train three times a day and it’s hard but we need to find balance, not only in our training and academics, but also in life.”
The first of UJ’s home games takes place against FNB Madibaz on Monday 10 February. Tickets cost R20 and are available at all UJ Gymnasia and the UJ Unlimited shop.
Tickets also can be purchased at the UJ Stadium on match day. Gates open at 4pm. Go to www.uj.ac.za, follow @UJ_Sport or find UJ Sport on facebook.
FNB UJ’s 30-man squad, from which the final 23 players will be chosen, are:
Wiseman Kamanga, Devon Martinus, Henna Bredenkamp, Van Zyl Botha, Ryan Plasket, Jannes Snyman, Francois du Toit, Sephato Qinisile,Shane Kirkwood, Jeremy Jordaan, David Antoinitis, Fabian Booysen, Tiaan MacDonald, Victor Sekekete, Dylan Peterson, Kobus Porter, Jacques Pretorius (c), Lukas van Zyl, Callie Erasmus, Jaco van der Walt, Jacques Nel, Andries Oosthuizen, Harold Vorster, Pieter Morton, Robert de Bruyn, JR Esterhuizen, PJ Walters, Michal Hazner, Marais Schmidt and Juan Kotze.
