Junior Boks dominate Namibia
The SA Under-20 team scored 14 tries in their runaway 92-27 victory over the senior Namibia side at the Paul Roos Markötter Stadium in Stellenbosch.
Outside centre Justin Geduld, Inside centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg, left wing Seabelo Senatla and right wing Luther Obi all scored two tries each while flyhalf Robert du Preez missed just three of the 14 conversions, with one hitting the upright.
Namibia actually took the lead in the third minute when flyhalf Thins Kotze slotted his first of two penalties. However, after that the home team kicked into gear and the Junior Springboks scored six tries to register a comfortable half-time lead of 40-6.
The South Africans played with purpose and stuck to their game plan, which yielded eight more tries in the second half. As expected, the dangerous SA backline kept the Namibians busy during the entire match, with fullback Cheslin Kolbe a constant threat whenever he had the ball.
Ruan Steenkamp, flank and SA U20 skipper, led his side superbly and he managed to keep his team composed and focus on their game plan. The forwards withstood some crunching tackles early on, but they managed to stamp their authority on the match in superb fashion, an aspect of their clash which pleased their coach, Dawie Theron, very much afterwards.
“We kept to our structure and I am happy with the overall discipline. A match such as this one can easily become very loose, especially once you’ve managed to post a huge score with still plenty of time to go. The boys played with purpose and desire and everyone worked their socks off to keep the intensity going right to the end,” said Theron.
Apart from Janse van Rensburg who suffered an ankle injury, the rest of the team came through unharmed. The squad will now assemble on May 26 in Cape Town before flying out to France three days later to play in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship.
The scorers:
For SA U20:
Tries: Ungerer, Geduld 2, Janse van Rensburg 2, Steenkamp, Du Plessis, Davis, Senatla 2, Kolbe, Obi 2, Mahuza
Cons: Du Preez 11
For Namibia:
Tries: Van Lill, Nel, Kitshoff
Cons: Kotze 3
Pens: Kotze 2
Teams:
South Africa Under-20: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Luther Obi, 13 Justin Geduld, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Ruan Steenkamp (captain), 5 Dennis Visser, 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Marne Coetzee, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Andrew Beerwinkel.
Replacements: 16 Sti Sithole, 17 Mike Willemse, 18 Jannes Kirsten, 19 Roelof Smit, 20 Percy Williams, 21 Sylvian Mahuza, 22 Jacques Rossouw, 23 Luhan de Bruin.
Namibian Welwitchias: 15 Justin Nel, 14 Malcolm Moore, 13 Divan Visser, 12 Eniell Buitendag, 11 Johan Tromp, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Arthur Bouwer, 8 PJ van Lill (captain), 7 Munee Tjiueza, 6 Rohan Kitshoff, 5 Joe Murorua, 4 Ian van Wyk, 3 Jaco Swanepoel, 2 Callie Swanepoel, 1 Johnny Redelinghuys.
Replacements: 16 Rathony Becker, 17 Shaun du Preez, 18 Hauta Veii, 19 Stefan Neustadt, 20 Awie Thompson, 21 PJ Walters, 22 Jacques Nel, 23 Shaun Kaizemi.
Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
