BUYS BACK TO CAPTAIN MADIBAZ

Fullback Jarryd Buys will return to captain the FNB NMMU-Madibaz squad for the third round of the FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International in Cape Town on Monday night.

The experienced Buys will bolster the Port Elizabeth team as they face their toughest test of the tournament so far when they take on defending champions FNB Ikeys at the UCT rugby fields.

The Madibaz will be hoping to come away with another win after defeating minnows FNB CUT 34-13 in their first home game earlier this week.

Madibaz head coach David Maidza welcomed Buys’s return and said his leadership would help to guide the players in the right direction.

“I feel like we are gaining momentum as a team in this competition and I don’t want to make too many changes to the squad at this point,” said Maidza.

Although the starting line-up remains very similar to the first two matches, strategic moves have been made to accommodate Buys who will reclaim his number 15 jersey.

Stand-in fullback Tythan Adams will return to his natural position at right wing, while acting captain CJ Velleman will slot back into the vice-captaincy.

Andisa Ntsila will be sitting out the next game due to a slight concussion, with Ivan-John du Preez moving off the bench to claim the number eight spot.

Brian Skosana will move from right to left wing, replacing Yamkela Ngam, who will be absent from the game due to a slight knock.

Devon Lailvaux holds onto the inside centre at number 12, while Andile Jho returns from his rest to start at outside centre.

Creswin Josephs moves to the bench for next week’s game, while Stephan Zaayman gets his start ahead of Wynand Grassman, who joins the replacements.

Jody Reyneke will return from his three-week layoff to reclaim his position as utility forward, and Khaya Malotana will also come in to cover the backs on the bench.

In response to the five yellow cards dished out to the Madibaz on Monday night, Maidza said he had spoken to the officials and that they had had a constructive discussion in terms of the way the NMMU side was disciplined.

“Our concerns were addressed and I am happy to move forward now in terms of how they handled the match and focus our energy on the coming game,” he said.

“We are ready to focus our energy on the coming game although I do feel that some of the calls affected our momentum a bit,” said Maidza.

Maidza said he was happy with the way the players were improving as a team and working diligently to advance their game strategies.

“We are satisfied to have claimed victory this week, but there are still many tasks ahead and we need to constantly push to perform better than we did in the last game if we want to succeed in this tournament.”

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FNB Madibaz: 15 Jarryd Buys (captain), 14 Tythan Adams, 13 Andile Jho, 12 Devon Lailvaux, 11 Brian Skosana, 10 Ruan Allerston, 9 Daniel Acker, 8 Ivan-John Du Preez, 7 Stephan Zaayman, 6 CJ Velleman (vice captain), 5 Rob Louw, 4 Paul Tyler, 3 Steven Robesson, 2 Dane van der Westerhuizen, 1 Arno Ebersohn. Replacements: 16 Warrick Venter, 17 Brenden Olivier, 18 Wynand Grassman, 19 Jody Reyneke, 20 Ivan Ludick, 21 Crerswin Josephs, 22 Khaya Malotana, 23 Marzuq Maarman