Eleven changes for Baby Boks

South African coach Dawie Theron has made 11 changes to his side to play Italy at the UWC Stadium in their second match of the IRB Junior World Championships on Friday.

Only Jan Serfontein (centre), Paul Willemse (lock), Steven Kitshoff (prop), as well as captain and flank Wiaan Liebenberg, remain from the side that lost their opening match against Ireland.

Four players, Marais Schmidt (fullback), Travis Ismaiel (wing), William Small-Smith (centre) and Khaya Majola will make their first appearance at the tournament. Handré Pollard (flyhalf) and Braam Steyn (eighthman) was unused substitutes against Ireland.

Theron explained the big turnover of players was always part of his planning.

"We only have a three day turnaround between the two matches," the Baby Boks' coach said.

"We are keen to redeem ourselves against Italy as we disappointed ourselves and our supporters against the Irish and I am convinced that the new players in the team will provide us with a lot of positive energy."

Liebenberg said the changes would not affect their play, adding: "We have been training together as a group for a while now and the new guys slotted in with ease.

"We are lucky to have such a short turnaround in that we can now rectify the mistakes we made in our opening game. We are still in the hunt to win the tournament."

* England made 10 changes to the side that beat Italy 64-5 for Friday's clash against Ireland in Stellenbosch.

Gloucester centre Ryan Mills captains the side for the first time on his 13th Under -20 appearance and there are first starts for Saracens scrumhalf Ben Spencer and Northampton Saints flank Ben Nutley.

Positional changes see Bath's Tom Heathcote move to flyhalf from inside centre and Harlequins' Charlie Walker makes the switch from fullback to wing.

England lead the way in Pool B after their nine-try win, but face a confident Irish side looking to make it two wins from two after beating hosts South Africa 23-19.

Assistant coach Nick Walshe says that England have recovered well and are ready for the Irish challenge: "The Italy game was tough but we've had a few days to get ready and the boys are looking fresh," he said.  

"Ireland had a fantastic result against South Africa so full credit to them for that, but we weren't surprised by it because we know what a good side they are and they can't be underestimated."

* The Ireland team to play England on Friday is unchanged from the side that secured an historic 23-19 victory in their first game of the tournament on Monday.

Shane Buckley and Stuart Olding have been added to the replacements bench, with the Ireland U-20 looking to gain revenge on England for a 20-9 defeat in the final round of the Six Nations.

Commenting on Friday's encounter, coach Mike Ruddock said: "England are the current Six Nations champions and we will have to reproduce the intensity we showed against South Africa if we are to get a result in this game.

"We have done our homework and we are now looking forward to the game."

New Zealand coach Rob Penney has named a significantly changed team to play Wales, keeping just four of the original starting XV that thumped Samoa 63-0 in their opening Junior World Championship pool match this week.

"This game is an opportunity for other members of the squad to play in this tournament to contest for starting places," Penney said.

"There is a proud history between Wales and New Zealand and we know Wales will be looking to improve on their performance of last year."

* Meanwhile Australian Under-20 coaches Anthony Eddy and David Nucifora made eight changes to their starting lineup as they prepare for their second match of the IRB Junior World Championship.

The side for Friday's match against Argentina will feature a distinct Sevens feel, with seven of the 22 either current or former Australian Sevens representatives.

With six changes to the forward pack and two to the backline of the side which claimed an opening 67-12 win over Scotland, Nucifora hopes to encourage competition for spots within his playing ranks.

"We wanted to get some fresh bodies out there," Nucifora said.

"We want to give everyone an opportunity to play. We've got a lot of competition for places and everyone is competing hard, so we're giving them an opportunity to show us what they've got.

"Having a good win in the first round just builds our confidence because we're still building as a team.

"This competition is all about building from each game and getting better. It's still early days."

Nucifora knows Argentina will be difficult opposition, having watched them defeat France 18-15 on Day One of the tournament.

"The Argentines played very well on Tuesday," Nucifora said.

"They're very physical and confrontational. It will be a tough game."

* Pacific rivals Samoa and Fiji come face on Friday.

The two proud Pacific Island nations – passionate about their rugby whether it be Sevens, Under-20 or senior level – both lost their opening Pool A matches on Monday, but are determined to kick-start their campaigns with victory on Friday.

Samoa, back in the Junior World Championship after winning the sister tournament, the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in Georgia last year, were the only team not to score on day one, losing 63-0 to four-time champions New Zealand.

Fiji had led Wales 12-3 at half time in the first Pool A match, but conceded six second half tries to ultimately lose 44-18, placing even more importance on the match between the two Pacific Island nations.

"Our second game will be against Fiji and that's our sole focus for Friday," insisted Samoa captain Ropeti Lafo. "We're working hard for the match. We need to improve on our defence firstly, and then secondly our set pieces. Our scrum and line-out will be vital.

"The Fijian team is very much like the Samoan team and we both work hard."

Andy Ripley, the Samoan team manager in South Africa, admitted that there is always rivalry on the rugby field between the two nations.

"You'll find the rivalry between the two teams whatever the age group," explained  Ripley. "This rivalry goes back many years and we're looking forward to Friday's game."

Schedule and available teams:

(kick-off times are local – GMT plus two hours)

Friday,  June 8:

Pool A:

14.45: Fiji v Samoa – UWC Stadium, Cape Town

Teams:

Fiji: TBC

Samoa: TBC

Referee: Francisco Pastrana (UAR)

Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU), Jason Jaftha (SARU)

TMO: Lyndon Bray

16.45: New Zealand v Wales – Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch

Teams:

New Zealand: 15 Martin McKenzie, 14 Matt Proctor, 13 Marnus Hanley, 12 Ope Peleseuma, 11 Junior Tofa-Va'a, 10 Scott Eade, 9 Bryn Hall (captain), 8 Jordan Taufua, 7 Hugh Blake, 6 Taniela Manu, 5 Christian Lloyd, 4 Joe Latta, 3 Eric Stone, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Ofa Tuuangafasi.

Replacements: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 Tuki Raimona, 18 Fraser Armstrong, 19 Nick Ross, 20 Jimmy Tupou, 21 Jonathon Kitto, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Pita Ahki.

Wales: 15 Ross Jones, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Matthew Morgan, 9 Tom Habberfield,  8 Dan Baker,  7 Ellis Jenkins,  6 Luke Hamilton,  5 Matthew Screech,  4 Cory Hill (captain),  3 Samson Lee,  2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rob Evans.

Replacements: 16 Darran Harris, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Willgriff John, 19 Rhodri Hughes, 20 Daniel Thomas, 21 Jonathan Evans, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Thomas Pascoe.

Referee: Angus Gardiner (ARU)

Assistant referees: Greg Garner (RFU), Quinton Immelman (SARU)

TMO: Donal Courtney

Pool B

18.45: South Africa v Italy – UWC Stadium, Cape Town

Teams:

South Africa: 15 Marais Schmidt, 14 Tshotsho Mbovane, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Travis Ismaiel, 10 Handré Pollard, 9  Vian van der Watt, 8 Braam Steyn, 7 Wiaan Liebenberg, 6 Khaya Majola, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Oliver Kebble, 2 Jason Thomas, 1 Steven Kitshoff.

Replacements: 16 Mark Pretorius, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Pieter Steph du Toit, 19 Fabian Booysen, 20 Abrie Griesel, 21 Tony Jantjies, 22 Pat Howard, 23 Maks van Dyk.

Italy: TBC

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FRA)

Assistant referees: Rasta Rashivenga (SARU), Sindile Mayende (SARU)

TMO: Lyndon Bray

18.45: England v Ireland – Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch

England: 15 Tommy Bell, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Will Addison, 12 Ryan Mills (captain), 11 Charlie Walker, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jack Clifford, 7 Ben Nutley, 6 David Sisi, 5 George Merrick, 4 Dominic Barrow, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Koree Britton, 1 Alec Hepburn.

Replacements: 16 Max Crumpton, 17 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 18 Ross Harrison, 19 Sam Twomey, 20 Chris Walker,  21 Dan Robson, 22 Sam Hill, 23 Ben Ransom.

Ireland: 15 Peter Nelson, 14 Barry Daly, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Foster Horan, 11 Sam Coghlan Murray, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Conor Gilsenan, 6 Jordan Coghlan, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Des Merrey.

Replacements: 16 James Rael, 17 Peter Reilly, 18 Jake Cawley, 19 Alan O'Connor, 20 Shane Buckley, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Stuart Olding.

Referee: Lourens Van Der Merwe (SARU)

Assistant referees: Leighton Hodges (WAL), Quinton Immelman (SARU)

TMO: Glen Jackson

Pool C:

14.45: Australia v Argentina – Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch

Teams:

Australian: 15 Ulupano Seuteni, 14 Lindsay Crook, 13 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 12 Apolosi Latunipulu, 11 Allan Faalavaau, 10 Kyle Godwin, 9 Matt Lucas, 8 Thomas Cusack, 7 Liam Gill (captain), 6 Curtis Browning, 5 Sam Jeffries, 4 Sam Reiser, 3 Oliver Hoskins, 2 Maile Ngauamo, 1 Pettowa Paraka.

Replacements: 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Silatolu Latu, 18 Jed Holloway, 19 Sean McMahon, 20 Nick Frisby, 21 Con Foley, 22 Lewis Holland, 23 Allan Alaalatoa.

Argentina: TBC

Referee: Glen Jackson (NZRU)

Assistant referees: Greg Garner (RFU), Danie Fortuin (SARU)

TMO: Clayton Thomas

16.45: France v Scotland – UWC Stadium, Cape Town

France: TBC

Scotland: TBC

Referee: JP Doyle (RFU)

Assistant referees: Jason Jaftha (SARU), Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)

TMO: Tappe Henning