Cape Town — The South African Under-20 side won’t have the weight of 2012’s winning Junior Springboks on their shoulders when they start their onslaught in the World Rugby under-20 Championship in Stellenbosch on Saturday.
In fact, the last time South Africa won the tournament on home soil, some of the current crop of players were in primary school and did not even play rugby yet.
And that’s why Bafana Nhleko, Junior Bok coach, believes they won’t have the burden and pressure of winning their home tournament on their shoulders as they start their campaign this weekend.
Nhleko included four capped players in his match-day run-on team facing Georgia on Saturday (kickoff 7 PM) in Stellenbosch’s Danie Craven Stadium, with the rest of the squad making their debut for the junior national side. Western Province flanker Paul de Villiers will lead the team, and together with scrumhalf Imad Khan, outside centre and vice-captain Katlego Letebele, and hooker Juan Else they have had a taste in the Junior Bok jersey.
“I’ve spoken to some guys in our team, and they weren’t even playing rugby when the team with the likes of Handre Pollard and Jan Serftontein won,” Nhleko said on Thursday.
“So for us, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart, we haven’t owned it (the win). We have spoken about the last time we won it and that it was at home, but as I said to the players, you can’t put pressure on people if we haven’t won it in over 10 years.
“It’s unrealistic. There have been great Junior Springbok teams of the past that came close, so for these guys, it’s about writing their own story. From a coaching side, our job is two-fold; helping these guys become players of national interest, and along those lines be on the right side of the results come 14 July.”
The Junior Boks start their campaign against a Georgian team that’s had some success in Europe and they will be looking to stamp their authority on the home side come Saturday.
The other pool matches are against Italy (Thursday 4 PM) and Argentina (Tuesday 4 July 7 PM).
Nhleko added that for some teams this can be a clean slate in the Junior World Championship, but for other sides who have played international tournaments like the Six Nations U20s, it could be a bit of an advantage coming into the matches.
His side, though, will see the games in front of the locals as a motivating factor.
“Playing at home is motivation and not a burden. The guys want to play in front of family and friends and have locals to support them.
“Most importantly, though, they will be playing for each other as a group. If we do the right things, the momentum, and support will grow as we go along.”
Junior Springboks to face Georgia: 15. Hakeem Kunene (uncapped), 14. Jurenzo Julius (uncapped), 13. Katlego Letebele (vice-captain, 2 caps), 12. Ethan Hooker (uncapped), 11. Masande Mtshali (uncapped), 10. Jean Smith (uncapped), 9. Imad Khan (4 caps, 5 points (1 try), 8. Abulele Ndabambi (uncapped), 7. Ghudian van Reenen (uncapped), 6. Paul de Villiers (captain, 4 caps), 5. JF van Heerden (uncapped), 4. Coetzee Le Roux (uncapped), 3. Mawande Mdanda (uncapped), 2. Juann Else (3 caps), 1. Phatu Ganyane (uncapped).
Replacements: 16. SJ Kotze (uncapped), 17. Corne Lavagna (2 caps), 18. Zachary Porthen (uncapped), 19. Jannes Potgieter (uncapped), 20. Gcinokuhle Mdletshe (4 caps), 21. Neil Le Roux (3 caps), 22. Damian Markus (uncapped), 23. Michael Annies (uncapped).
IOL Sport
