dominant 35-0 victory<\/a> in the first encounter last Sunday, Foote has recalled stalwarts Oliver Reid and Siphosethu Mnebelele to the starting front row.<\/p>\nWhile both sides agreed to utilize their full squads in the series opener, Friday\u2019s clash \u2013 which kicks off at 13h00 (SA time) and will be live streamed by the hosts \u2013 sees a return to the standard 23-man match-day teams.<\/p>\n
Foote has opted for continuity in the backline, with the only change the inclusion of Zekhethelo Siyaya at fullback in the place of Dylan Miller, who will now play off the bench. Siyaya, who played for the SA U18s last year, was a late withdrawal last week due to illness.<\/p>\n
However, there are several changes to the pack. Beyond the inclusion of fit-again front-rankers Reid and Mnebelele \u2013 who sat out the first clash as a precaution \u2013 there is a shuffle among the loose forwards.<\/p>\n
Kebotile Maake will start at No 8 ahead of Reuben Kruger, while Wasi Vyambwera joins the starting trio as Luke Cannon\u2019s flanker partner.<\/p>\n
Reid and Mnebelele, both of whom were members of last year\u2019s Junior Bok side that lifted the U20 world crown in Italy, bring a wealth of experience to the set piece. Their inclusion means Phiwayinkosi \u201cRambo\u201d Kubheka (prop) and Liam van Wyk (hooker) will provide cover from the bench.<\/p>\n
Also on the bench are Kai Pratt (prop), JD Hattingh (lock), Risima Khosa (loose forward), Luan Giliomee (flyhalf), Samuel Badenhorst (centre), and Miller (utility back).<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the selection and the lessons learned from the first outing, Foote said: \u201cWe are very pleased to welcome Ollie and Esethu back into the starting XV. They are vital members of our leadership group who understand the standards we set for the Junior Bok jersey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the guys who stepped in last Sunday did an admirable job keeping a clean sheet, having that experience back in the \u2018engine room\u2019 provides us with the extra layer of composure and technical grit essential in a tough environment like Tbilisi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the victory in the series opener, the Junior Bok coaching staff have emphasized the need for an 80-minute performance following a scoreless and penalty-strewn second half.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the 35-0 scoreline was a great start, the second half was a real arm-wrestle where we lost some of our clinical edge and discipline,\u201d noted Foote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve spent the last few days in our reviews and on the training pitch, specifically addressing those issues. The players have been incredibly honest about their shortcomings \u2013 especially regarding the penalty count \u2013 and we\u2019ve worked hard on ensuring our set-piece dominance translates into sustained pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to the final clash, the SA U20 mentor said his players are preparing for a Georgian outfit renowned for their brute strength at the set-piece.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe aren\u2019t under any illusions \u2013 we expect Georgia to come out even harder in this final clash,\u201d said Foote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are a well-drilled, proud, and incredibly physical side. Sunday showed us that they never stop fighting, particularly in the mauls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are anticipating a massive physical onslaught, but this is exactly why we are here \u2013 to test our resilience and fine-tune our systems under extreme pressure in the same environment where the Junior World Championship will take place in a few months\u2019 time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Junior Springboks:<\/strong> 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 14 Lindsey Jansen, 13 Markus Muller, 12 Ethan Adams, 11 Jordan Steenkamp, 10 Yaqeen Ahmed, 9 Hendr\u00e9 Schoeman, 8 Kebotile Maake, 7 Mumbere \u201cWasi\u201d Vyambwera, 6 Luke Canon, 5 Riley Norton (captain), 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Danie Kruger, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Oliver Reid.<\/strong> Replacements: <\/strong>16 Liam van Wyk, 17 Phiwayinkosi \u201cRambo\u201d Kubheka, 18 Kai Pratt, 19 JD Hattingh, 20 Risima Khosa, 21 Luan Giliomee, 22 Samuel Badenhorst, 23 Dylan Miller.<\/p>\nIssued by SA Rugby Communications<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote has named a reinforced match-day squad for the second and final international against Georgia, drafting in key forward experience as the South Africans look to build on their clinical opening performance in Tbilisi on Friday. Following a dominant 35-0 victory in the first encounter last Sunday, Foote has recalled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":91243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91232","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\/91232","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=91232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/91243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=91232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=91232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=91232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote has named a reinforced match-day squad for the second and final international against Georgia, drafting in key forward experience as the South Africans look to build on their clinical opening performance in Tbilisi on Friday.<\/p>\n