West Coast Under 20’s In Action This Saturday At Rugby Park
The West Coast under-20 rugby team will have their first hit-out of the season on Saturday against the Christchurch Boys High second XV.
The match, which kicks off at 11am at Rugby Park in Greymouth, is the curtain raiser to the Heartland match between West Coast and Wanganui at 1pm.
Under-20s coach Terry McBride said last year was the first time for years that West Coast had fielded an under-20 side.
“This side is a stepping stone for players to gain selection to the Heartland team, and at the moment we have plenty of talent around in this age bracket,” McBride said.
Already one of the players who is in the under-20 squad, Logan Winter, has been hauled into the West Coast Heartland team.
McBride said a lot of behind the scenes work by West Coast Rugby Union co-ordinator Robbie Maitland had seen the under-20 side develop over the past two seasons.
As for Saturday’s game, McBride said he expected the Christchurch side to be a classy opponent.
“It is going to be a tough encounter, but we have a talented squad and have been training for six weeks; the side will be up for it.”
After this weekend, the West Coast team will have a home and away contest against the Buller development side.
“This season we have a bunch of guys who will be wearing the West Coast jersey with pride, not just making up the numbers,” McBride said.
The squad for Saturday is:
- Nathan Cook
- Anthony Barlow
- Jesse Macrae
- Lucas Syminton
- David Childs
- Nick Monk
- Sean Loveday
- Ben Campbell
- Archie McBride
- Jeffery Garland
- Jared Gibson
- Mason Duyvestyn
- Jacob Komen
- Logan Ross
- Lloyd Bowater
- Jordan Burt
- Lee Davidson
- William Schmetz
- Liam Hewlett
- Kees Duyvestyn
- Brandon Maitland
- Sam Tau
- Caleb Tohovaka
Coach: Terry McBride
Assistant coach: Sam King
Manager: Ray Manera
Assistant manager: Tony Davidson
Story: Viv Logie – Greymouth Star