U20 Rugby Championship, Round Two - Teams and Predictions
PREVIEW: Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote has revealed his matchday squad for their Round Two Under-20 Rugby Championship encounter against Australia on Sunday.
Foote has made a couple of rotational changes to his team for the encounter at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.
The Junior Boks’ starting pack show only one change from the side that impressed against Argentina in the opening round, with Wasi Vyambwera coming in at blindside flanker in place of Thomas Beling.
Among the backs, Khuthadzo Rasivhaga is preferred to Lindsey Jansen on the left wing, and Akahluwa Boqwana gets the nod at fullback ahead of Alzeadon Felix.
On the bench, Luan van der Berg (prop) fills the gap left by the injured Kai Pratt, while Gert Kemp will provide loose forward cover in the place of Risima Khosa, with Rasivhaga’s spot amongst the replacements filled by Jade Muller as the reserve outside back.
According to Foote, the team enjoyed a productive week of preparation in the build-up to Sunday’s meeting with Australia.
“We had a really good review of our performance against Argentina and, while we are very pleased with the result and the way the players performed on defence and attack for long periods of the match, there are obviously aspects of our game that need improvement,” said Foote.
“Our focus is playing the full 80 minutes and ensuring that we stay on our game model to meet what will be a huge challenge against an Australian side that is well coached and who boasts strong skill sets across the park.”
Foote expressed the team’s immense pride and excitement on returning to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium for their second fixture. More than 10,000 spectators attended the opening round of matches.
“The support we received against Argentina last week was absolutely fantastic, and we are excited to be playing in front of the passionate Eastern Cape rugby fans once again,” he said.
See below for Round Two’s teams and predictions!
Sunday, May 3:
New Zealand U20 v Argentina U20
(Nelson Mandela Stadium, Gqeberha – Kick-off: 14.00 SAST; 12.00 GMT; 09.00 ART; 00.00 NZST Monday, May 4)
Prediction
Rugby365: New Zealand by 15 points.
Teams:
New Zealand U20: 15 Cohen Norrie, 15 Jay Reihana, 13 Oliver Guerin, 12 Haki Wiseman, 11 JD Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Mika Muliaina, 9 Charlie Sinton, 8 Finn McLeod, 7 Kobe Brownlee, 6 Logan Platt, 5 Jake Frost, 4 Alex Arnold, 3 Alex Hewitt, 2 Josh Findlay, 1 Ethan Webber.
Replacements: 16 Luka Patumaka Makata, 17 Charlie Wallis, 18 Dane Johnston, 19 Johnny Falloon, 20 Micah Fale, 21 Boston Krone, 22 Angus Revell, 23 Logan Williams.
Argentina U20: 15 Simón Pfister, 14 Bautista Quiroga Miguens, 13 Pedro Coll (captain), 12 Benjamín Ordiz, 11 Luciano Avaca, 10 Federico Serpa, 9 Juan Preumayr, 8 Federico Torre, 7 Jerónimo Sorondo, 6 Franco Marizza, 5 Bautista Benavides, 4 Joaquin Pascual Viale, 3 Bautista Salinas Mealla, 2 Manuel Cuneo Camargo, 1 Fabrizio Cebron.
Replacements: 16 Nicolas Cambiasso, 17 Benjamin Farias Cerioni, 18 German Tello Fredes, 19 Agustin Ponzio, 20 Basillio Canas, 21 Benjamin Ledesma Arocena, 22 Ramon Fernandez, 23 Manuel Giannantonio.
Referee: Ella Goldsmith
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison, Lulutho Matomela
TMO: Ben Crouse
Teams:
South Africa U20 v Australia U20
(Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha – Kick-off: 16.10 SAST; 14.10 GMT; 00.10 AEST Monday, May 4)
Prediction
Rugby365: South Africa by 10 points.
Teams:
South Africa U20: 15 Akahluwa Boqwana, 14 Jack Benade, 13 Samuel Badenhorst, 12 Ethan Adams, 11 Khuthadzo Rasivhaga, 10 Yaqeen Ahmed, 9 Hendré Schoeman, 8 Kebotile Maake, 7 Wasi Vyambwera, 6 Luke Canon, 5 Riley Norton (captain), 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Danie Kruger, 2 Liam van Wyk, 1 Rambo Kubheka.
Replacements: 16 Mahle Sithole, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Luan van der Berg, 19 JD Hattingh, 20 Gert Kemp, 21 Jayden Brits, 22 Vusi Moyo, 23 Jade Muller.
Australia U20: 15 Louis Fenwicke, 14 Riley Whitfeld, 13 Leo Jaques, 12 Zach Fittler, 11 Taione Taka, 10 Finn Mackay, 9 Angus Grover, 8 Eli Langi, 7 Tom Robinson (captain), 6 Luca Cleverley, 5 Isaac Fonua, 4 Will Ross, 3 Edwin Langi, 2 Ewald Kruger, 1 Jacob Job
Replacements: 16 Tyler Maybery, 17 Nick Hill, 18 Jonah Rangiwai, 19 Kenneth Harris, 20 Toby Brial, 21 Marshall Le Maitre, 22 Jonty Fowler, 23 Chayse Geros
Referee: Gonzalo De Achaval
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison, Lulutho Matomela
TMO: Ben Crouse
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