The Junior Springboks wrapped up their preparations for the forthcoming Under-20 Rugby Championship with a training session against the Golden Lions Under-21 squad in Sandton on Tuesday and will fly out to Australia on an early evening flight on Wednesday.
The inaugural U20 Rugby Championship takes place from 2 May to 12 May and will be staged at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Queensland, where the up-and-coming stars of Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa will compete against each other.
The SA U20 squad was named last week and their holding camp in Johannesburg ended the local preparations for the campaign in Australia, which is the first of two international events for the Junior Boks this year.
In June and July, the Junior Boks will again take part in the annual World Rugby Under-20 Championship, which will be staged for a second successive year across three venues in Western Cape.
Junior Bok head coach Bafana Nhleko said the group have prepared well for the inaugural SANZAAR event, which forms an integral part of their overall preparations for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship.
“As a group, we are really excited about touring to Australia and to participate in this tournament, which is a wonderful opportunity for the Junior Springboks to test our skills and gain international experience,” said Nhleko.
“We are grateful to SANZAAR for finding a solution for us and the other southern hemisphere nations. It's a great initiative and provides our group with an opportunity to build an identity, create bonds and continue to grow on and off the field.”
Following their preparation camp in Stellenbosch, which saw the players in action in a few training games against local provincial teams, Nhleko said they have very clear objectives for the tournament in Australia.
“We spoke about the importance of performance; to do that, you need to be consistent in your behaviours and playing systems in a competitive, Test match environment,” he said.
“The boys are excited for this opportunity to test themselves and play in another country, to experience the Australian culture, and to continue to grow as a group.”
The new competition will comprise a round-robin format where all teams will play each other once while the top team after the three-round, six-match tournament will be declared the champion.
Junior Springbok squad for the U20 Rugby Championship:
Forwards:
Props: Casper Badenhorst (Vodacom Bulls), Liyema Ntshanga (Toyota Cheetahs), Mbasa Maqubela (Vodacom Bulls), Reno Hirst (Fidelity ADT Lions), Ruan Swart (Vodacom Bulls), Zachary Porthen (DHL Western Province).
Hookers: CJ Erasmus (DHL Western Province), Ethan Bester (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Juan Smal (Vodacom Bulls).
Locks: Adam de Waal (DHL Western Province), JF van Heerden (Vodacom Bulls), Thomas Dyer (Hollywoodbets Sharks).
Loose forwards: Bathobele Hlekani (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Divan Fuller (DHL Western Province), Keanu Coetsee (Vodacom Bulls), Sibabalwe Mahashe (Fidelity ADT Lions), Thabang Mphafi (Fidelity ADT Lions), Tiaan Jacobs (Biarritz, France).
Backs:
Scrumhalves: Asad Moos (DHL Western Province), Ezekiel Ngubane (DHL Western Province), Hassiem Pead (Fidelity ADT Lions).
Flyhalves: Thurlon Williams (Fidelity ADT Lions), Tylor Sefoor (Toyota Cheetahs).
Centres: Bruce Sherwood (DHL Western Province), Joshua Boulle (DHL Western Province), Jurenzo Julius (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Litelihle Bester (Hollywoodbets Sharks), Philip-Albert van Niekerk (Vodacom Bulls).
Outside backs: JC Mars (DHL Western Province), Joel Leotlela (DHL Western Province / SA Sevens contracted), Michail Damon (Vodacom Bulls).
Match schedule (SA kick-off times):
Thursday, 2 May
09h00: Junior Boks vs New Zealand
11h00: Australia vs Argentina
Tuesday, 7 May
09h00: New Zealand vs Argentina
11h00: Junior Boks vs Australia
Sunday, 12 May
05h30: Junior Boks vs Argentina
07h30: Australia vs New Zealand
