SOUTH African Rugby Union (SARU) announced a strong SA u.18 Sevens squad for the Youth Commonwealth Games that will take place from September 9 to 11 in Apia, Samoa.
Eastern Province schoolboy star Curwin Bosch, from Grey College, who won the 2014 Coca-Cola Craven Week player of the year award, is one of eight SA Schools squad members who participated in the team’s triumphant u.18 international series campaign. The tournament featured England, Wales, France and Italy.
SA u.18 Sevens team manager, Marius Schoeman, was pleased with the strength of the team and said their goal is to go one step further than the silver medal they won in the previous games at the Isle of Man. South Africa lost to England in the final. Paul Delport, a former Springbok Sevens star and current coach of the successful SA Sevens Academy team, will coach the u.18 team.
“This group is the result of an identification process that started two years ago at the u.16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week. We have monitored their progress ever since and they all came through a rigorous training camp hosted in April and last December,” said Schoeman.
“The majority of the squad consists of players who did very well for the SA Schools team in the recent u.18 international series against quality opposition. Although we won’t have much time together before we fly to Samoa, I am confident that the boys will perform well.”
Together with the greater Team SA contingent, the u.18 squad will assemble on Thursday, August 28, in Johannesburg for a three-day training camp, and is set to depart for Samoa on Sunday, August 30.
The SA Sevens u.18 team:
1. Manie Libbok (SWD, Outeniqua)*
2. Embrose Papier (Blue Bulls, Garsfontein) *
3. Francois Agenbag (Free State, Grey College)
4. Curwin Bosch (Eastern Province, Grey College) *
5. Heino Bezuidenhout (Eastern Province, Daniel Pienaar) *
6. Stedman Gans (Blue Bulls, Waterkloof) *
7. Donovan du Randt (KwaZulu-Natal, Glenwood)
8. Hacjivah Dayimane (Golden Lions, Jeppe)*
9. Johan Visser (Western Province, Paarl Gymnasium)*
10. Damian Willemse (Western Province, Paul Roos)*
11. JC Pretorius (Pumas, Middelburg)*
12. Mfundu Ndlovu (Pumas, Standerton)*
*Provincial union and high school
