Western Province have expressed interest in bringing Eastern Province U18 flyhalf Curwin Bosch to Cape Town, reports BRENTON CHELIN.

The Grey PE flyhalf has been one of the standout players at this year's Craven Week, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by the scouts watching on television and from the side of the field in Middelburg. For EP Kings academy manager Robbie Kempson, the attention on one of Port Elizabeth's finest young players is unwarranted.

'We've been keeping an eye on him for a while now with his performances for Grey PE. We've always known how good he is and now others are starting to take notice,' Kempson told SARugbymag.co.za. 'Province have actually come in for him on numerous occasions already, but we've managed to hold onto him for the time being. He'll finish matric at Grey, so he'll be in the province until the end of next year at least.'

Bosch hails from Alexandria, a small farming town in the Eastern Cape situated about 100km outside of Port Elizabeth. He has been attending Grey High in Port Elizabeth on a bursary and has represented Eastern Province at age-group level before, turning out at the U16 Grant Khomo week last year. Earlier this year he was selected for the U18 SA Sevens team that won gold at the African Youth Games. He seems destined for rugby at the top level, something that may come sooner rather than later should he choose to stay in the Eastern Cape.

'I believe that if they're good enough, they're old enough,' says Kempson. '[Kings coach] Carlos Spencer seems to follow the same thought process. Funnily enough he wanted to bring Curwin into the Currie Cup main squad and I had to tell him, “Hang on a moment, the kid's just turned 17”. But it shows our thought processes here and our willingness to give our players the opportunity to develop within the system.'

Bosch will feature for Eastern Province in the final game of this year's Craven Week against SWD on Saturday.

Photo: Carl Fourie/Gallo Images