{"id":71062,"date":"2025-04-29T15:06:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T13:06:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=71062"},"modified":"2025-04-29T15:06:54","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T13:06:54","slug":"norton-to-captain-junior-boks-against-pumitas-in-gqeberha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=71062","title":{"rendered":"Norton to captain Junior Boks against Pumitas in Gqeberha"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
GQEBERHA, SOUTH AFRICA – APRIL 24: Jean Erasmus and Riley Norton during the South Africa national men’s U20 rugby team photocall session at Southern Sun The Marine on April 24, 2025 in Gqeberha, South Africa. (Photo by Richard Huggard\/Gallo Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former SA u18 lock and national age-group cricketer Riley Norton<\/strong> will captain the Junior Springboks against Argentina in the opening round of the Rugby Championship u20 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Thursday.<\/p>\n

This clash, which kicks off at 16:10, is the second match of a double-header at the stadium. The encounter will be preceded by the game between the defending champions, New Zealand, and Australia, which will open the tournament at 14:00.<\/p>\n

Junior Bok head coach Kevin Foote has selected an exciting match-23 for the clash with the Pumitas, who gave their SA U20 counterparts a tough time last year in the inaugural tournament staged in Australia.<\/p>\n

The Junior Bok starting fifteen includes the likes of Norton, Wandile Mlaba, a member of last year\u2019s Junior Bok squad, and the 2024 SA Schools and SA u18 captain, Sethu Mnebelele, amongst the forwards.<\/p>\n

The backs feature exciting players such as Blitzbok Gino Cupido<\/strong> and Cheswill Jooste<\/strong> on the wings and Kyle Smith at flyhalf. Utility forward Batho Hlekani and outside back JC Mars are amongst the replacements who are expected to make an impact off the bench.<\/p>\n

Foote said his team had a good time preparing for the opening clash in the Friendly City.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe weather is great, and our hosts have been fantastic, which has given us a lot of energy in our training,\u201d said Foote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat stands out for me is the intent and joy of the players; the smiles on their faces tell me they are confident, excited, and see this opportunity to represent our country as a huge privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Junior Bok coach added that the eagerness and competition amongst squad members made selection a tough exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur squad selection for this first game was difficult because there are so many talented guys, which speaks volumes about our depth,\u201d said Foote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve decided on a more settled pack \u2013 there’s only one change in the pack from our last training match against Hamilton\u2019s, with our captain, Riley Norto,n coming into the starting lineup after a slight injury.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Foote this shows the forwards have momentum, and he mentioned the synergy they showed against Hamilton\u2019s will give them a good platform upfront, while the backs also excite the coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmongst our backs, we have welcomed back Haashim Pead at scrumhalf with his experience,\u201d said Foote. \u201cLike Riley, he also had a niggle, which is why he didn’t play in the last training match. There’s also Gino, who comes into the squad after making his Blitzbok debut recently, and JC Mars is also included.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foote said they are aware of the huge challenge against the strong South American group: \u201cWe\u2019ve done our homework and know what Argentina is going to bring to the game. We understand and respect their passion, and they are also looking forward to this opportunity to play for their country. We have a lot of respect for the Argentinians around their contact and set play, and we are looking forward to playing against them.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking on behalf of the players and the staff, we are proud to wear the Springbok on our hearts and represent this country. We are hoping for a great crowd and to play an exciting brand of rugby that represents South Africa,\u201d added Foote.<\/p>\n

Tickets are priced at R20 per person and will be available at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium ticket office or online from Webtickets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Junior Springboks team to face Argentina in Gqeberha:<\/strong><\/p>\n

15 Gilermo Mentoe,\u00a014 Cheswill Jooste,\u00a013 Demitre Erasmus,\u00a012 Albie Bester,\u00a011 Gino Cupido,\u00a010 Kyle Smith,\u00a09 Haashim Pead,\u00a08 Wandile Mlaba,\u00a07 Matt Romao,\u00a06 Thando Biyela,\u00a05 JJ Theron,\u00a04 Riley Norton (captain),\u00a03 Simphiwe Ngobese,\u00a02 Sethu Mnebelele,\u00a01 Oliver Reid.\u00a0Replacements:\u00a0<\/strong>16 Juandr\u00e9 Erasmus,\u00a017 Ranon Fouch\u00e9,\u00a018 JD Erasmus,\u00a019 Morn\u00e9 Visser,\u00a020 Batho Hlekani,\u00a021 Ceano Everson,\u00a022 Vusi Moyo,\u00a023 JC Mars.<\/p>\n

Rugby Championship u20 Fixtures (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium):<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thursday, 1 May<\/strong><\/p>\n

14:00: New Zealand vs Australia<\/p>\n

16:10: Junior Boks vs Argentina<\/p>\n

Tuesday, 6 May<\/strong><\/p>\n

14:00: New Zealand vs Argentina<\/p>\n

16:10: Junior Boks vs Australia<\/p>\n

Sunday, 11 May<\/strong><\/p>\n

14:00: Argentina vs Australia<\/p>\n

16:10: Junior Boks vs New Zealand<\/p>\n

Issued by SA Rugby Communications<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former SA u18 lock and national age-group cricketer Riley Norton will captain the Junior Springboks against Argentina in the opening round of the Rugby Championship u20 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Thursday. This clash, which kicks off at 16:10, is the second match of a double-header at the stadium. The encounter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":71064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/71064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}