Ikeys Ready for Undefeated Tygerberg

The youthful FNB Ikey Tigers proved their worth once again this past Saturday as they beat SK Walmers 20-17 at the Green Point Track. In what was always going to be a uniquely challenging fixture, the boys in stripes managed to pull off a win and are now looking ahead to Wednesday evening’s fixture against an undefeated Tygerberg team.

“We knew that it was always going to be hard playing at the track, but the boys’ discipline was really good. Things can often happen off the ball and it can get under your skin, but our players kept their cool and remained composed throughout the match,” said Christiaan Esterhuizen.

“We won the territory battle, and we completely dominated the scrums and the lineouts so our fundamentals were strong,” he added.

With Wednesday night fast approaching, Esterhuizen is aware that Tygerberg are the in-form side, and despite the expected weather conditions, he remains confident that his team is ready for the challenge. “We’ve done our homework. Tygerberg are a team that like to play a bit, they usually play wider from the ruck than the other teams do. We’re hoping to suffocate them and force some mistakes out of that,” he explaind.

“We’re expecting bad weather on that day and that could go against us, but we’re going to do our best to cause the upset. We’re going into this match as the underdogs, but we’re ready for the challenge,” he concluded.

With the match on Wednesday evening followed by a game against UWC on Saturday, Esterhuizen will be relieved that the team aren’t faced with that many injuries. The team for the match against Tygerberg will be unchanged for the most part, with only a few players dropping out of the starting XV. “Our squad is already a bit thin as it stands, so the team will be young and a bit unexperienced again,” Esterhuizen explained.

The FNB Ikey Tigers team that will take the field against Tygerberg:

15 Mike Muller, 14 Ibie Adams, 13 Suwi Chibale, 12 Rico Lategan, 11 Brad Janse van Rensburg, 10 Rob Anderson, 9 Dylan Tydbury, 8 Matt Andrews, 7 Gareth Ehret, 6 Msizi Zondi, 5 Brad Bosman, 4 Jade Kriel, 3 Sam Theron, 2 Struan Murray, 1 Robin Murray.

16 Michael Kennedy/Martin Chandler (TBC), 17 Jayson Landman, 18 James Pagden, 19 Stuart Stopforth, 20 James Alexander, 21 Tom Bednall, 22 Liam Furniss.