Preview: Brandwag vs Daniel Pienaar

Brandwag will be looking to make it three wins in a row when they meet their rivals and neighbours Daniel Pienaar in this weekend's Classic Clash in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape.

The 10-9 win at Daniel Pienaar last year was Brandwag's fourth in five years and they will again be difficult to knock over this year again as they will have home ground advantage.

They have a young team for the clash this year with only five senior players left from last year's side. They have been hit by a number of injuries,  especially in the backline, but should have enough cover to offset the loss.

While they have a good recent history against Daniel Pienaar, Brandwag's overall results this year has been a mixed bag. They have won five of their ten games in 2015. Their record includes impressive wins against St Andrews and Marlow, while their biggest disappointment of the season was their 12-45 hiding at the hands of Selborne.

Daniel Pienaar, unlike Brandwag, have an experienced group of players at their disposal losing only five players from last year's first team. There will be nine players starting the game from their team last year.

They have also got a few injury concerns ahead of their meeting with Brandwag and have to make a couple of changes to the side that lost 3-48 to Grey PE.

Daniel Pienaar has only played five games this season compared to Brandwag's ten. They have won two and lost three with their wins coming against Ben Vorster and Otto du Plessis. They were comprehensively beaten by Oakdale and Grey PE and suffered a close loss to Northwood.

In the last nine meetings between these sides there have been six wins for Brandwag and three for Daniel Pienaar.

Teams:

Brandwag: 15 Henco Pierterse, 14 Levert Pieterse, 13 Keith Plaatjies, 12 Wian Engelbrecht, 11 Davian Swanepoel, 10 Christian Berry, 9 Brandon O'Niell, 8 Stefan Janse van Vuuren, 7 Frank Fourie, 6 Divan Knoetse, 5 Donovan Stevens, 4 Braam Weyers, 3 Ryan Moore, 2 John James Moolman, 1 Franco Saayman.

Replacements: TBC

Daniel Pienaar: 15 Johan Kemp, 14 Damian George, 13 Bevan Plaatjies, 12 Recown Meyer, 11 Silubonile Mapikela, 10 Denver Kleu, 9 Luciano Grootboom, 8 Duan du Plessis, 7 Jean Smal, 6 Wian Strydom, 5 Willem Kruger, 4 Tiaan Bernado, 3 Pieter van Taak, 2 Zander Viljoen, 1 Patrick van Taak.

Replacements: 16 Dennis Hewitt, 17 Rickus Kleinhans, 18 Reinhard Deysel, 19 Ryan Oliphant, 20 Pieter Gunter, 21 Sydney Daniell, 22 Athenkosi Sikiwe, 23 Jacques Steenberg, 24 Liwan Welgemoed.

Recent Results:

2006: Daniël Pienaar won 31-16

2007: Daniël Pienaar won 31-21

2008: Die Brandwag won 22-14

2009: Die Brandwag won 35-10

2010: Die Brandwag won 18-13

2011: Die Brandwag won 11-5

2012: Daniël Pienaar won 28-23

2013: Die Brandwag won 17-15

2014: Die Brandwag won 10-9