Junior Boks all set for historic U-20 Rugby Championship opener

The Junior Springboks will head into new territory on Thursday when the first Under-20 Rugby Championship takes place in Australia, with the men from South Africa taking on old rivals, New Zealand, in their opening game.

The team will be led by prop Zachary Porthen, who was also part of the SA U-20 team that played in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Cape Town last year. Porthen is also a former SA Schools captain.

Four other players featured at the junior World Cup last year, namely Asad Moos (scrumhalf), Jurenzo Julius (centre), Litelihle Bester (wing) and JF van Heerden (lock).

‘Players are eager’

Junior Bok coach Bafana Nhleko said his group had a good week training for the historic Sanzaar tournament.

“The medical and strength and conditioning staff did a sterling job to ensure our group settled in as quickly as possible after our long-haul flight from South Africa, and our preparations went well this week,” said Nhleko. “The players are now eager to put in a good effort on the field against a top-quality opponent.

“We all know about the tremendous rivalry, and the all-round threat of New Zealand is a well-known fact,” added Nhleko.

“Especially the physical battle will be huge between two teams that pride themselves on physicality. The main message has been to focus on ourselves and to drive our behaviours.

“So, as much as there is a lot at stake in this match and we are chasing a good performance, as a group, we are also eager to continue to learn and use this tournament as a great opportunity to further develop as a team.”

Hosts Australia and Argentina will clash in the other game of the opening-round double header.

The new tournament comprises a round-robin format where all teams will play each other once and the top team after the three-round, six-match tournament will be declared as winner of the first U-20 Rugby Championship.

The clash is scheduled to kick off at 9am (SA time) at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Bokarina, Queensland, and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

SA U-20 team: Michail Damon, Joel Leotlela, Jurenzo Julius, Bruce Sherwood, Litelihle Bester, Tylor Sefoor, Asad Moos, Tiaan Jacobs, Bathobele Hlekani, Sibabalwe Mahashe, Adam de Waal, Thomas Dyer, Zachary Porthen (capt), Juan Smal, Ruan Swart. Bench: Ethan Bester, Mbasa Maqubela, Reno Hirst, JF van Heerden, Thabang Mphafi, Ezekiel Ngobeni, Thurlon Williams, Joshua Boulle