Varsity Cup has revealed the selection panel who will select the Varsity Cup Dream Team that is due to play the Junior Springboks later this month.
Convenor of the Springbok selectors Peter Jooste headlines the panel, supported by Springbok backline coach Ricardo Loubscher, Springbok Performance Analyst Chean Roux and South Africa’s u.20 coach Dawie Theron.
Two veteran rugby journalists, JJ Harmse and Vata Ngobeni, will also offer input in order to ensure the cream of the crop from this year’s Varsity Cup competition makes the cut.
The panel will convene to select the 23-man squad over the course of the next few days. The squad will be revealed on Monday April 13, after this year’s Varsity Cup final between Shimlas and Tuks at Shimla Park in Bloemfontein.
The match, which will take place at Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch on April 21 at 19:00 and be broadcast live, once again underscores Varsity Cup’s importance in the South African rugby calendar.
“A selection panel of this calibre shows that while the game might be a friendly, Varsity Cup plays an important role in the development of young talent in South African rugby. It offers the perfect opportunity for players to get spotted and nurtured for a career in professional rugby. Just like Varsity Cup has become a tradition, we hope that this fixture will become an annual tradition,” said Varsity Cup CEO Duitser Bosman.
Since its inception, Varsity Cup has already produced numerous domestic and Super Rugby players as well as close to a full Springbok starting XV.
“That Varsity Cup has produced such an illustrious line of Boks says a lot about the standard of the competition and we are sure that the Varsity Cup Dream team will offer a stern test for our talented Junior Springboks,” said Jurie Roux, CEO of the South African Rugby Union (SARU).
