Blow for Junior Boks with play-offs looming
SQUAD UPDATE: The Junior Springboks have called up utility back Alzeadon Felix as an injury replacement for Siya Ndlozi as they set their sights on their final pool match in the World Rugby Under20 Championship on Wednesday against Scotland.
Ndlozi, who scored two tries in their pool opener against Australia, sustained a hamstring injury against England on Friday, which has ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.
Felix, who played for the SA Schools team in 2024, had a good Varsity Cup campaign and was part of the wider Junior Bok squad prior to their departure for Italy.
With one pool game to go before the semifinals, the Junior Boks are fully aware of the huge threat posed by Scotland when they meet at the Stadio San Michele in Calvisano on Wednesday.
With just five days between matches, and with two more games to come after Wednesday’s pool decider, both sides have made changes to their match squads.
The Junior Boks have picked a strong starting fifteen stacked with players who have already donned the green and gold jersey during their tour of Georgia, the U20 Rugby Championship, and warm-up games against Kenya.
The bench includes several players who participated in the victories over Australia and England in Italy.
Meanwhile, Scotland have made nine changes to their starting line-up, meaning they will come at the Junior Boks with fresh legs and huge determination to challenge the South Africans from the outset.
Thando Biyela, who captained the Junior Boks against Georgia and will lead the side against Scotland, said he will be leaning on the experienced players around him during the game.
“It is a massive honour to be leading the Junior Springboks, but I have such experienced players around me, such as Vusi Moyo and Jaco Grobbelaar, and also Haashim Pead on the bench,” said Biyela.
“We will be looking to maintain our momentum, but the Scots are a big and physical unit, so it’s going to be an exciting battle. For us, it will be about getting clarity on all the things we are doing and focusing on our set piece to set up a good attacking platform.”
Lumumba Currie, the Junior Springboks’ forward coach, echoed head coach Kevin Foote’s view that their performances thus far are the result of the squad’s hard work during their preparation back home in Stellenbosch.
“We went to Georgia, and one of the big areas we focused on was getting the set piece right,” said Currie.
“Then, to gain more experience, we trained against senior provincial players and against Kenya, so we took confidence from those camps leading up to the tournament. Our forwards have done well so far, but we did concede some penalties, so we have been working hard to eliminate our mistakes.
“As a South African team, we want to impose ourselves on the opposition, but we know Scotland are a good set-piece team with a big pack of forwards and good plans, so we must be prepared for them.”
