De Villiers, Van Niekerk to lead SA sides in U18 openers

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS: No.8 Jacobus de Villiers will captain the SA Under-18 side against France U18, while lock Martin van Niekerk has been handed the captaincy duties for the SA U18 ‘A’ side in their game against Ireland when the 2026 U18 International Series kicks off at HS Durbanville on Friday.

The popular annual series will see South Africa’s two representative sides face their age-group counterparts from Ireland, France, England, and Georgia at three venues, with the opening round on August 7 hosted at Durbanville. Boland Landbou outside Wellington will stage the second round on August 11, and the final round, on August 15, will take place at Stellenberg.

On Friday morning, the SA U18 ‘A’ side will open the tournament against Ireland at 11.30 (SAST), before England face Georgia at 13.30, and the SA U18 team take on France at 15.30, for the Mehdi Narjissi Cup, in memory of the French player who tragically went missing off the coast at Cape Point in 2024.

The series forms a key part of SA Rugby’s successful Elite Player Development (EPD) pathway and provides the country’s leading schoolboy players with opportunities to test themselves against top international opposition. The tournament event has established itself as an important stepping stone towards junior representative rugby and, ultimately, the higher levels of the South African rugby ecosystem.

The two squads feature a total of ten players selected in the SA U18 squads of last year. The SA U18 side will have the following players from last year in the match-23 against France on Friday: Juvan Burden (WP, lock), De Villiers (SWD, No.8), Mickyle Booise (WP, scrumhalf), Ethan van Biljon (WP, flyhalf), Ncuthu Kepe (Border, left wing), Erin Nelson (EP, outside centre), Lamla Mgedezi (Free State, fullback), and Thabiso Simelane (Blue Bulls, outside back).

Meanwhile, in the SA U18 ‘A’ match squad to face Ireland, Nathan Aneke (KZN, outside centre), and Lucritia Magua (EP, right wing) are two players returning from last year’s event.

De Villiers, who is at Oakdale and represented SWD at the FNB U18 Craven Week last month, is the younger brother of Springbok flanker and former Junior Springbok captain, Paul.

The SA U18 side will again be coached by Lwazi Zanqa, assisted by Heinrich Martin, while Flash Malinga will guide the SA U18 ‘A’ team, with Cobus van Dyk his assistant. Both teams will also share the services of defence coach Clinton van Rensburg.

The two South Africa coaches said their squads have settled well into their preparations and were excited about the opportunity to test themselves against strong international opposition.

Zanqa said the experience of returning players to both the SA sides would be valuable as they look to start the series strongly: “Our sessions have gone well in terms of our attack, defence and unit work, and we are looking forward to seeing what these boys can do in our first games against France and Ireland.”

Teams:

SA U18: 15 Lamla Mgedezi (Free State, Grey College), 14 Anesu Kuzonyei (Sharks, Northwood), 13 Erin Nelson (Eastern Province, Graeme College), 12 Tiaan Basson (vice-captain, Western Province, Paul Roos Gymnasium), 11 Ncuthu Kepe (Border, Queen’s College), 10 Ethan van Biljon (Western Province, Stellenberg), 9 Mickyle Booise (Western Province, Paarl Gimnasium), 8 Jacobus de Villiers (captain, SWD, Oakdale), 7 Jamie Wimble (Sharks, Northwood), 6 Stefan van der Vyver (Blue Bulls, Garsfontein), 5 Jean Dreyer (Western Province, Paarl Gimnasium), 4 Juvan Burden (Western Province, Stellenberg), 3 Nicolas Salamousas (Sharks, Michaelhouse), 2 Charles Whitehead (Western Province, Paarl Gimnasium), 1 Clement Makelele (Sharks, Kearsney College).
Replacements: 16 Theo Boshoff (Sharks, Maritzburg College), 17. Aphelele Chamane (Sharks, Michaelhouse), 18 Ruben Lombard (Blue Bulls, Garsfontein), 19 Glodi Tshipamba (Golden Lions, Jeppe), 20 Werner de Bruin (Western Province, Paul Roos Gymnasium), 21 Siphesihle Marule (Pumas, Uplands White River), 22 Luke Doyle (Eastern Province, Graeme College), 23 Achmat Behardien (Western Province, Wynberg), 24 Ethan Barker (Western Province, Paarl Gimnasium), 25 Thabiso Simelane (Blue Bulls, St Alban’s), 26 Luxolo Sonkonokono (Sharks, Westville).

SA U18 ‘A’: 15 Rhandzu Mkhabela (Pumas, Nelspruit), 14 Lucritia Magua (Eastern Province, Graeme College), 13 Nathan Aneke (vice-captain, Sharks, Durban High School), 12 Amogelang Mataboge (Sharks, Durban High School), 11 Ruan Genis (Golden Lions, Monument), 10 Anthony Viljoen (Golden Lions, Monument), 9 Rufagon Hendricks (SWD, Outeniqua), 8 Niel du Randt (Free State, Grey College), 7 Werner de Bruin (Western Province, Paul Roos Gymnasium), 6 Linakho Mehlomakulu (Western Province, Rondebosch), 5 Martin van Niekerk (captain, Blue Bulls, Affies), 4 Bernhardt Schulze (Western Province, Paarl Gimnasium), 3 Priden Sibiya (Sharks, Durban High School), 2 Charl Els (Blue Bulls, Affies), 1 Max Malan (Western Province, Paarl Boys’ High).
Replacements: 16 Kwaza Gobingca (Western Province, Rondebosch), 17 Matthew Prins (SWD, Outeniqua), 18 Sebastiaan Bekker (Western Province, Paarl Gimnasium), 19 Bulelani Cebani (Sharks, Durban High School), 20 AD Faul (Western Province, Paarl Boys’ High), 21 Nala Shabangu (Sharks, Northwood), 22 Liam de Villiers (Western Province, Paarl Boys’ High), 23 Travis Pheiffer (Western Province, Paul Roos Gymnasium), 24 Alex Jankowich (Sharks, Michaelhouse), 25 Drewyn Baron (Blue Bulls, Garsfontein), 26 Thomas Saunders (Western Province, Paarl Gimnasium).

SA U18 International Series fixtures (all times are SAST:

Friday, August 7 – Hoërskool Durbanville

11.30: SA U18 ‘A’ vs Ireland
13.30: England vs Georgia
15.30: SA U18 vs France

Tuesday, August 11 – Boland Landbou

11.30: SA U18 ‘A’ vs Georgia
13.30: England vs France
15.30: SA U18 vs Ireland

Saturday, August 15 – Stellenberg High School

11.30: SA U18 ‘A’ vs France
13.30: Ireland vs Georgia
15.30: SA U18 vs England