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Junior Springboks ‘eager’ for historic clash with rivals New Zealand U20
By Finn Morton
Former South Africa Schools captain Zachary Porthen will lead the Junior Springboks in a historic U20 Rugby Championship clash against traditional rugby rivals New Zealand on Thursday.
Porthen, who has been named to start at tighthead prop, is one of five players in South Africa’s 23-man squad who participated in last year’s World Rugby U20 Championship on home soil.
Halfback Asad Moos, centre Jurenzo Julius and wing Litelihle Bester are the others in the run-on side, while vice-captain JF van Heerden will look to make a difference as a second-row replacement.
Captain Porthen joins Ran Swart and Juan Smal in the front-row, while Thomas Dyer and Adam de Waal round out the tight five. Flankers Sibabalwe Mahashe and Bathobele Hlekani join Tiaan Jacobs in an exciting loose forwards trio to take on the Kiwis.
Joining scrum-half Asad Moos in the halves is first five Tylor Sefoor, while Bruce Sherwood and vice-captain Jurenzo Julius will line up just outside the playmaking pair in the midfield.
Litelihle Bester will take his place on the left wing with Joel Leotlela on the right. Michail Damon completes the starting side after being named to wear the No.10 jumper as the team’s fullback.
“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,” coach Bafana Nhleko said in a statement.
“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,” he added.
“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.”
This is the first match ever in the history of the U20 Rugby Championship. Later on the opening day, hosts Australia take on Argentina at the same venue (Sunshine Coast Stadium).
South Africa versus New Zealand is scheduled to get underway at 9am (South Africa time) or 5pm for those in Australia. It will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
Junior Springboks to take on New Zealand U20
- Ruan Swart
- Juan Smal
- Zachary Porthen (c)
- Thomas Dyer
- Adam de Waal
- Sibabalwe Mahashe
- Bathobele Hlekani
- Tiaan Jacobs
- Asad Moos
- Tylor Sefoor
- Litelihle Bester
- Bruce Sherwood
- Jurenzo Julius (vc)
- JoeL Leotlela
- Michail Damon
Replacements
- Ethan Bester
- Mbasa Maqubela
- Reno Hirst
- JF van Heerden (vc)
- Thabang Mphafi
- Ezekiel Ngobeni
- Thurlon Williams
- Joshua Boulle
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And there is nothing authentic about Moana Pacifika, it is a sixth NZ franchise. Almost all of the players are NZ citizens, born and raised in NZ, were developed by NZ secondary schools and play in the NPC. The players just happen to be of Pacific heritage (just as there are a very large number of Pacific heritage players on the original five NZ franchises). Moana Pacifika is a marketing ploy for Auckland’s second SRP franchise.
Fiji Drua are legitimately a Pacific island team. Most players are born in Fiji, the players live and train in Fiji, and they play their home matches in Fiji.
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