Baby Boks change for final trial
South African Under-20 coach Dawie Theron has again reshuffled his starting line-up for the third and final trial match against their Argentinean counterparts at City Park in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Baby Boks have already clinched the three-match series between the two countries' U20 teams, after posting comprehensive 78-31 and 60-14 victories respectively over the visitors.
The friendly internationals are part of both teams' preparations for the 2014 Junior World Championship to be held in Auckland, New Zealand, from June 2 to 22.
Several players who started for the Junior Springboks against the Los Pumitas in Stellenbosch on Tuesday were not available due to the Vodacom Cup semifinals this weekend – which involves the Pumas, Griquas, Blue Bulls and the Golden Lions.
Theron has only retained five players for the clash on Saturday, all of whom are in the backline.
Fullback Jesse Kriel will again wear the No.15 jersey, while the powerful centre pairing of Dan Kriel and Andre Esterhuizen also remains intact.
Theron has also opted to start once more with the halfback duo of Jean-Luc du Plessis (flyhalf) and JP Smith (scrumhalf).
The reshuffled pack consists of players who have all participated in the two previous encounters with the visitors, either as part of the starting line-up in Saldanha or as replacements in Stellenbosch.
Commenting on his team's goal for the final match, Theron said: "We want to build on the momentum gained in the previous matches.
"I would also want to see us maintain or even improve our tempo of play."
The SA U20 coach said there was still hard work ahead for the squad to fine-tune their preparations.
"The coaches would really like to see the players work on improving their decision-making on attack and defence, as well as at the breakdowns," explained Theron.
South Africa Under-20: 15 Jessie Kriel, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Dan Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 JP Smith, 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Victor Sekekete, 5 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 4 Abongile Nontonkwane, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Corniel Els, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: TBC
Date: Saturday, May 10
Venue: City Park, Cape Town
Kick-off: 16.00 (14.00 GMT)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
