Photo: Jamie Margolis
September Schedule
On Saturday, September 10th, the Tel Aviv Heat will face off against newcomers, Romanian Wolves, in Round 1 action of the Rugby Europe Super Cup’s second season. The Heat will stay on the road for two additional fixtures in Georgia––vs Black Lion in Kutaisi on Sunday the 18th and vs RC Batumi on Saturday the 24th – before returning back to Israel for the rest of the regular season.
Player Roster
The Heat is bringing back a number of key players from our first season, including loose forward captain and Namibian international Prince Gaoseb, and vice captain and fly half Jordan Chait, who returns after playing for the Sharks in the Currie Cup competition.
In the backline, the Heat will again draw on the skills of Sebastiaan Jobb at fullback, capped Springbok Jamba Ulengo on the wing, Nemani Buliruarua at center, scrum halves Bradley Thain and Omer Levinson will suit up this weekend and Niall Saunders will join the team later.
Up front, the forward pack sees the return of Olympic gold medalists Jasa Veremalua and Semi Kunatani in the back row alongside young Fijian lock Sailasa Turagaluvu and mobile flanker Tom Berman and exciting new recruit Mitchell Carstens.
Tel Aviv Heat fans will also see a number of new faces, including an entirely new front row comprised of loosehead prop Wiehahn Herbst, hooker Dameon Venter, and tighthead prop Caylib Oosthuizen. Returning front rowers Thabiso Mdletshe, Mcmillan Muller and Justin Theys will bring continuity to the Heat. Keep a watchful eye on home grown super talented loose head Nitsan Reizel who is sure to make his Super Cup debut this season. Local lads Idan Eisenberg (centre), Yiftach Engel (flank/hooker), Misha Eli (lock), Nazir Gasanov (hooker), Yotam Shulman (lock) and Ori Abutbul (centre/wing) have been hard at work this year and are primed to make an impact during the course of the competition.
Photo: Jamie Margolis
Director of Rugby and Head Coach Kevin Musikanth:
"We are super excited for Season 2. Naturally it would have been great to have more preparation time together, but we did manage to get the bulk of the squad in training camp this week and are now geared up for 3 games on the road. We hope to strengthen the bonds that were forged last year and we relish our journey together. Our Eastern conference, with world cup countries Romania and Georgia is of course tough, but we have a well balanced squad and are very much looking forward to this challenge. While there is a fine line between success and failure on the sports field, every new competition dawn, brings rugby dew drops to nourish and sustain opportunity and longevity. One of our aims this year, with more time in Israel, is to nurture and develop the talent within the club structures of Israel, with the platform that The Tel Aviv Heat creates, for young aspiring Israeli rugby players that now see a future in the sport".
Assistant Coach Demetri Catrakilis:
"We are all excited to see what the super cup will look like this year. It’s great to have our team going into a second season with some momentum from last season.We hope to show our abilities on the field and go one further than we did last year".
CEO Pete Sickle:
"We are so proud of the team we have put together this year – not only the level of skill and physicality we will deliver on the pitch, but the strength of character of players and the spirit of brotherhood clearly evident from the very first moments of our preseason camp. We welcome our supporters around the world to go beyond watching our games to become active members of our extended family through social media. And this year we have we have launched the Tel Aviv Heat Supporters Club that offers a range of high value benefits, including online sessions with coaches and captains, exclusive merchandise, and even chances to win tickets to the Rugby World Cup in 2023. (telavivheat.com/members)".
Photo: Jamie Margolis