The Junior Springboks secured their place in the semi-finals of the World Rugby U20 Championship with a superb second half performance by grinding out a 24-16 victory over Argentina on a cold and windy night at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town.
Junior Springbok captain Paul de Villiers is eagerly anticipating his team’s third and final, must-win Pool C clash against Argentina in the 2023 World Rugby Under-20 Championship at Athlone Stadium on Tuesday.
Flyhalf Jean Smith - the Junior Springboks leading scorer in their 2023 World Rugby Under-20 Championship campaign - will resume his role as the starting No 10 when South Africa take on Argentina at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Junior Springbok head coach Bafana Nhleko and captain Paul de Villiers believe that the Junior Boks can bounce back from the defeat to Italy to qualify for the World Rugby U20 Championship semi-finals.
The Junior Springboks plan to deliver an energetic effort at Paarl Gymnasium on Thursday, where they will take on Italy in their second Pool C match of the 2023 World Rugby Under-20 Championship.
Junior Springboks head coach Bafana Nhleko named five uncapped players in his starting team to face Italy in Paarl on Thursday in their second Pool C match of the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship.
The experienced Lumumba Currie has joined the SA Rugby Academy squad in Stellenbosch in his capacity as newly-appointed Junior Springbok assistant coach, providing support to Bafana Nhleko with the Under-20 forwards in the programme.
A group of 41 players will attend this year’s SA Rugby Academy programme, which will also kick-start the Junior Springboks’ preparations for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in South Africa later this year.
The Junior Springboks left their best performance for last as they outplayed Wales in the Six Nations U20 Summer Series final in Treviso on Tuesday night.
The Junior Springboks arrived in Italy on Tuesday evening and immediately went about their business to fine-tune their preparations for Friday’s opening match of the U20 Six Nations Summer Series against England in Verona.