The Junior Springboks have made several changes to their match-day squad for Sunday's playoff match with Argentina in the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
The Junior Springboks do not want to be defined by their defeats to England and Argentina in the pool phase of the World Rugby U20 Championship, and that's why they will continue to give it their all in their remaining two matches, according to head coach Bafana Nhleko.
Junior Springbok coach Bafana Nhleko has tweaked the starting fifteen for Thursday’s World Rugby U20 Championship encounter with Argentina in Stellenbosch by making five changes to the run-on side that started in the win over Fiji.
Junior Springbok head coach Bafana Nhleko praised the character and fighting spirit of the South African Under-20 team after they staged a successful comeback to beat Argentina in a pulsating U20 Rugby Championship match at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Bokarina, Queensland in Australia on Sunday.
Five members of last year’s Junior Springbok squad were included in the 31-player touring group for the inaugural Under-20 Rugby Championship in Australia, that was announced by SA U20 head coach Bafana Nhleko.
SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus and Junior Springbok head coach Bafana Nhleko reacted enthusiastically to the announcement made by SANZAAR that a new U20 Rugby Championship will kick off in 2024.
Damian Markus will earn a first start for the Junior Springboks against England on Friday, while SA U20 head coach Bafana Nhleko was also forced to make a few changes due to injuries for their World Rugby U20 Championship third place playoff at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town.
Junior Springbok coach Bafana Nhleko says beating England in the bronze final at the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship on Friday will be a huge motivating factor for them in the next couple of days.
Junior Springbok head coach Bafana Nhleko said the tough route into the semi-finals of the World Rugby U20 Championship will benefit his squad going into Sunday's playoff encounter against Ireland.
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.