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Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux lauded his team’s character after they produced an admirable team effort to defeat England 26-12 on Friday at the Sixways Stadium in Worcester, England, in their final UK tour match.

This followed victories against Wales and Scotland on tour, and Georgia in Cape Town, as part of their World Rugby U20 Championship preparations.

The Junior Springboks outscored England four tries to two, after leading 14-7 at the break.

“I am very proud,” said Roux. “This was our third match on tour against a fresh English side, and the players showed tremendous character, so all credit to them.

“It was a great team effort. I thought we had the upper hand in the scrums and the lineouts at times, and sometimes they had it, which just shows. But we were lucky to get through it.

“We really showed great character.” 

With a series of solid performances in the lead-up to the World Rugby U20 Championship, Roux was confident that his charges were on the right track for the international spectacle, which will be hosted in the south of France from 30 May to 17 June.

“This most definitely gives us confidence,” said the coach. “We wanted a tough tour with three challenging games, and that is exactly what we got before the tournament.”

The first half against England was tightly fought as both packs tried to create a solid platform, while the backs fed off this to make their presence felt.

The Junior Springboks struck first with a try in the opening minutes by winger David Kriel and fullback Gianni Lombard converted to hand the team a 7-0 lead. Lombard received a yellow card shortly after for an illegal tackle, and England took advantage of this as winger Ben Loader forced his way through the defence out wide to level the scores.

The hard grind continued between the packs in the following exchanges, but it was the SAU20’s who made the most of this, as scrumhalf Rewan Kruger dotted down after some good forward pressure, which pushed the visitors 14-7 ahead.

The SAU20s extended their lead to 19-7 thirteen minutes into the second half as hooker Schalk Erasmus crossed the chalk from a rolling maul, and the team continued to apply pressure on attack as the match progressed.

England closed the gap on the scoreboard to 19-12 in the 65^th minute as Henry Walker scored the team’s second try. But this was cancelled out later on as Junior Springbok centre and man-of-the-match Rikus Pretorius scored an intercept try with six minutes left on the clock to stretch their lead to 26-12.

England fought hard until the end, but the visitors’ solid defence shut them out, and they wrapped up the victory.

The Junior Springboks will return to South Africa for their World Rugby U20 Championship holding camp before departing for France on 25 May.

England U20s 12 (7) Junior Springboks 26 (14)

England – Tries: Ben Loader, Henry Walker. Conversion: James Grayson.

Junior Springboks – Tries: David Kriel, Rewan Kruger, Schalk Erasmus, Rikus Pretorius. Conversions: Gianni Lombard (3).

Issued by SA Rugby Communications

Grey College will be out seeking revenge when they lock horns with Selborne College this Saturday in Bloemfontein. The match kicks off at 13:30.

All the matches on the A-field will be live streamed on DigiTV.co.za.

Last year Selborne College managed to bag their first victory since 1996 against Grey in East London. Their hero on that day – flyhalf, Thomas Bursey, will once again be one of their key players. This time however he will be filling the scrumhalf jersey. Bursey was a third team call-up last year, but since that day cemented his place in the starting line-up.

Grey College has showed so far this year that they are a team that will not easily be beaten. They ended Paarl Boys’ High’s undefeated run against South African opponents since 2014 last Saturday at Brug Street in Paarl.

Like most successful Grey College first teams of the yesteryear this year’s team has a midfield combination to take note of. Franco Smith and Wyclef Vlitoor is developing in a formidable combination. Smith’s biggest attribute is his distribution skills, while Vlitoor has the quick feet and pace to compliment that.

Grey College defeated HTS Drostdy by 47-5 during Wildeklawer in Kimberley. Selborne College lost against the Donkeys of Drostdy by 26-29 during the Kearsney College Easter Festival.

Selborne College danger man is their fullback, Siba Xamlashe. Hy represented Border at last year’s Craven Week in Johannesburg. The match-up between the two hookers, Venter (Grey College) and Jaques Goosen (Selborne) is also one to look forward to.

The teams:

Grey College: 15 Richard Kriel, 14 Ian-Small-Smith, 13 Wyclef Vlitoor, 12 Franco Smith, 11 Lesley Botha, 10 Zander du Plessis, 9 AJ Bezuidenhoudt, 8 Werner Gouws, 7 De Wet Marais, 6 Raynardo Gouveia, 5 WJ Steenkamp (captain), 4 Danwich Beukes, 3 Herman Agenbag, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels.

Selborne College: 15 Siba Xamlashe, 14 Jarrod Ramsey, 13 Likhaye Tengimfene, 12 Mnombo Zwellindaba, 11 Sibulele Mali, 10 Mntungwa Mapantsela, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Rayden Masters, 7 Jared Taylor, 6 Troy Mynhardt, 5 Grant Pretorius, 4 Nolan Kemp, 3 Shakeel Naidoo, 2 Jaques Goosen, 1 Akalinekeli Dlakavu.

Previous Encounters: 

2017	Selborne College	20	Grey College	19	East London
2016	Grey College	48	Selborne College	17	Bloemfontein
2015	Grey College	51	Selborne College	21	East London
2014	Grey College	34	Selborne College	16	Bloemfontein
2013	Grey College	41	Selborne College	5	Oos-Londen
2012	Grey College	52	Selborne College	5	Bloemfontein
2011	Grey College	16	Selborne College	16	Oos-Londen
2010	Grey College	61	Selborne College	14	Bloemfontein
2009	Grey College	33	Selborne College	0	Oos-Londen
2008	Grey College	38	Selborne College	16	Bloemfontein
2007	Grey College	68	Selborne College	0	Oos-Londen
2006	Grey College	51	Selborne College	0	Bloemfontein
2005	Grey College	38	Selborne College	13	Oos-Londen
2004	Grey College	54	Selborne College	6	Bloemfontein
2003	Grey College	57	Selborne College	0	Oos-Londen
2002	Grey College	38	Selborne College	6	Bloemfontein
2001	Grey College	32	Selborne College	0	Oos-Londen
2000	Grey College	54	Selborne College	3	Bloemfontein
1999	Grey College	5	Selborne College	3	Oos-Londen
1998	Grey College	32	Selborne College	14	Bloemfontein
1997	Grey College	38	Selborne College	15	Oos-Londen
1996	Selborne College	15	Grey College	14	Bloemfontein
1995	Grey College	24	Selborne College	0	Oos-Londen
1994	Selborne College	30	Grey College	12	Bloemfontein
1976	Grey College	12	Selborne College	0
1964	Selborne College	6	Grey College	3
1958	Selborne College	10	Grey College	3
1954	Grey College	0	Selborne College	0

Louis Koen, SA Rugby’s high performance manager and Junior Springbok assistant coach, was satisfied with the progress made by the SA U20s on their UK tour and said it was the perfect preparation for the World Rugby U20 Championship.

The Junior Springboks followed their 41-3 victory over Scotland in Edinburgh with a 41-5 defeat of Wales in Cardiff. They take on England at the Sixways Stadium in Worcester on Friday in their last outing.

The World Rugby U20 Championship will be hosted in the south of France from 30 May to 17 June, and the Junior Springboks have been drawn in Pool C with Georgia, Ireland and France.

“We are very pleased with the progress the forwards made in the match against Wales, especially in the set pieces,” said Koen.

“The scrums and lineouts were excellent, and another positive was the opportunities we created on attack, although we need to round off those chances going forward. Our defence was also very good.

“In general, the progress made after each game has been pleasing, and that is certainly something we can build on going forward.”

Koen said the fact that the players have been exposed to touring overseas before the international spectacle would also be beneficial.

“We are blessed to have this opportunity to tour in the UK before the World Rugby U20 Championship,” said Koen.

“It gives the players insight into what touring involves, such as staying in hotels, being on the team bus and going through customs at an airport, which are small but important things.

“The chance to face international teams on their home ground is also invaluable.

“This tour is the perfect preparation for the tournament, as the first 60 minutes of all of our matches up to now have been very tough and closely fought, and that is what we are going to experience in the U20 Championship.” 

Koen is expecting a physical battle against England: “They are strong in the set pieces, and what makes them different to the other teams is that they have game-breakers in their backline, so I think they will pose a different challenge. 

“The fact that we have a short turn-around from the clash against Wales will make it tougher, but our focus in the next two days will be on our processes and the detail that is important to us.”

The match will kick off at 19h30 (20h30 SA Time). Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux will announce his match-day squad for the clash on Thursday.

Issued by SA Rugby Communications

Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux praised his team’s commitment as they produced another solid performance on their UK tour to defeat Wales U20 41-5 at Cardiff Arms Park on Tuesday.

The victory marked their second 40 point score on tour after they defeated Scotland 41-3 in Edinburgh on Friday.

The SA U20s held a 10-0 lead at the break against Wales, and built on this with intent in the second-half to finish the match with six tries to only one by the hosts. The Junior Boks laid a solid foundation up-front and backed this up with hard running on attack, which saw them pose a threat until the end.

“I am pleased with the performance and I thought our defence, lineouts and scrums went well,” said Roux.

“It was a physical match and we stood our ground and dominated in the contact. I am especially pleased with our defence.

“It is a pity we conceded one try, but they were on our tryline at times and we had to defend several phases, so I thought that was excellent. It showed the players’ commitment.”

He added: “I think we still have some work to do on our attack. But that is why are playing these matches. We would like to learn from them.”

The SA U20s will face England in their final tour match on Friday at the Sixways Stadium in Worcester, and Roux admitted that the players will be tested with the short turnaround time.

“It is going to be tough with a two-and-a-half days to go before the match against England, but we are trying to make it as tough as possible for the players,” said Roux.

“We are expecting a difficult match, as they are fresh and will be ready for us, but that is exactly what we wanted before going to the World Rugby U20 Championship.”  

Roux’s charges wasted no time making their presence felt at Cardiff Arms Park, as they opened up the scoring in the eighth minute compliments of No 8 Muller Uys, who rounded off some powerful forward play.

This was followed by a stretch of determined play by both sides, during which the SA U20s and Wales worked their way close to the tryline on a few occasions, although neither side was able to convert this into points.

With halftime approaching, replacement centre Wandisile Simelane received the ball in space in the corner after more solid forward play, and touched down to hand the visitors a 10-0 lead going into the break.

Wales struck back immediately after the break with a try by Corey Baldwin, but the Junior Springboks found their rhythm and remained composed, which allowed them to dominate proceedings. This paid off as replacement flyhalf David Coetzer scored the team’s third try thanks to good momentum up-field, which fullback Gianni Lombard converted.

Lombard added a long-range penalty goal, and then converted a try by hooker Daniel Jooste minutes later, which pushed the side into an encouraging 27-5 lead. With momentum on their side and the Junior Boks’ determined to play until the final whistle, winger Tyrone Green found space on the outside to score, and Coetzer followed this up with his second on the stroke of fulltime to secure a rewarding 41-5 victory. 

Wales 5 (0) Junior Springboks 41 (10) 

Wales – Try: Corey Baldwin. 

Junior Springboks – Tries: Muller Uys, Wandisile Simelane, David Coetzer (2), Daniel Jooste, Tyrone Green. Conversions: Gianni Lombard (4). Penalty goal: Gianni Lombard.

Issued by SA Rugby Communications

After all the excitement of last week’s schoolboy rugby from around South Africa, this week’s fixture list might seem a bit dull. 

The Virsekerbeker however kicks off in full, with the biggest clash of the weekend being Transvalia taking on Helpmekaar. Monument of Krugersdorp should have too much firing power in their Premier Interschools clash against Waterkloof. In Bloemfontein Grey College will have to keep their feet on the ground in their revenge match against Selborne College. 

In Kimberley the annual Classic Clash between Diamantveld and Noord-Kaap will produce some fireworks. In Upington its the Klein Interjol, while Dale College and Queen’s College face each other in their annual interschools.

The Results:

EASTERN CAPE
Grey High School	33	Wynberg Boys’ High	36
Selborne College	22	Grey College	62
Kingswood College	36	Union HS	15
Dale College	29	Queen’s College	10
Marlow Landbou	32	Nico Malan	17
St Andrew’s College	43	HTS Daniël Pienaar	7
Hudson Park		Pearson
Brandwag (Uitenhage)	57	Muir College	5
Framesby	34	Boland Landbou	20

Grey College	62	Selborne College	22
Diamantveld	22	Noord-Kaap	16
Sentraal	36	Jim Fouche	13
Louis Botha	60	Landboudal	22
Welkom Gimnasium	52	AHS Kroonstad	7
Goudveld	31	Voortrekker	14
Witteberg	15	Wilgerivier	12
Brandfort	45	Zastron	5a
Hendrik Potgieter		Hoërskool Bloemfontein
St Andrews		Sand du Plessis
Fichardtpark	15	Grens HS	5

VIRSEKERBEKER – AFDELING 1 (Beker)
Transvalia	23	Helpmekaar	20
Garsfontein	46	HTS Middelburg	29
Nelspruit	34	EG Jansen	28
VIRSEKERBEKER – AFDELING 1 (Plaat)
Marais Viljoen	29	Zwartkop	26
Eldoraigne	51	Centurion	20
Rustenburg	46	Montana	17
VIRSEKERBEKER – AFDELING 1 (Skild)
Pietersburg	27	Jeugland	20
Ben Vorster	93	Florida	12
Oos-Moot	63	Hugenote	3
Lichtenburg	3	Middelburg	0
AFDELING 2
Die Wilgers	12	Midstream College	11
Overkruin	38	HTS John Vorster	24
Wonderboom	20	Pretoria-Noord	15
Alberton	51	Dinamika	14
Randburg	31	Linden	23
Merensky	25	Ben Viljoen	15
Frikkie Meyer	32	Piet Potgieter	8
Ellisras	46	Hans Strijdom	10
Potchefstroom Gimnasium	45	Wagpos	23
Klerksdorp	37	Potchefstroom Volkskool	27
Piet Retief	40	Standerton	17
Secunda	65	Ermelo	3
Hoogenhout	30	Oosterland	19
HTS Witbank		Rob Ferreira
Heidelberg Volkskool	43	Vereeniging Gimnasium	29
Hans Moore	25	Oosterlig	17
Die Anker	43	Driehoek	14
AFDELING 3
Pretoria THS	17	Curro Hazeldean	10
Akasia	33	Uitsig	0
HF Verwoerd	41	Cullinan	0
Erasmus	27	Gerrit Maritz	15
Leeuwenhof	49	Riebeeckrand	0
Fochville	42	Queen’s High	7
Trinityhouse	17	Jan Viljoen	15
Hartbeespoort	33	Brits	26
Vryburg	24	Bergsig	12
Barberton	45	Lowveld High	31
Bergvlam		Kanonkop
Penryn College	52	Sybrand van Niekerk	0
Curro Nelspruit		Uplands College
AHS Sasolburg		Overvaal
Die Ankerskool		Sasolburg
Parys		Carel de Wet
Brandwag (Benoni)	41	Birchleigh	0
Delmas	29	Springs Boys’ High	5
Belvedere		John Vorster (Nigel)
Stoffberg		Elspark
AFDELING 4
Maragon Olympus	53	Hercules	0
Carolina	25	Eastdene	0

NOORDVAAL

Waterkloof	28	Monument	26
Noordheuwel	25	Affies II	17
St Stithian’s College		Parktown Boys’ High
Pretoria Boys’ High	24	Hilton College	27
King Edward VII		St Benedict’s College
St Alban’s College	30	St John’s College	12

KWAZULU-NATAL
Durban High School	60	Westville Boys’ High	10
Kearsney College	6	Maritzburg College	3
Michaelhouse		Northwood
Hilton College	27	Pretoria Boys’ High	23
Pionier	86	Empangeni	0

Paul Roos Gimnasium	44	Diocesan College	21
Boland Landbou	20	Framesby	34
Paarl Gimnasium	69	Rondebosch Boys’ High	28
SACS	17	Durbanville	13
Outeniqua	31	Stellenberg	22
Wynberg Boys’ High	36	Grey High School	33
Bellville	26	Brackenfell	20
HTS Bellville		Somerset College
Strand	36	De Kuilen	0
Tygerberg		Monumentpark
DF Malan
Charlie Hofmeyr	18	Swartland	15
Hugenote		Worcester Gimnasium
Hermanus		Parel Vallei

The crowd was certainly entertained when Kearsney hosted one of their biggest traditional rivals at the weekend, with both teams prepared to give the ball some air.  Kearsney scored the first try through fullback Robbie Koenig from a rehearsed backline move from the left-hand side of the field. Taine Muirhead converted for an early 7 – nil lead.

Westville scored their first try of the match six minutes later when fly half Kyle Forsyth stepped two defenders for a converted try.  Scores levelled at 7-all.

After a handling blunder by the hosts, Westville winger Habana Mkwanazi scored an opportunistic try when he toed the ball down the touch line and managed to dive on to it with centimetres spare to the dead ball line.  This took the lead to 12 – 7 in Westville’s favour.

It was not long before Kearsney scored again to regain the lead from a try scored by hooker Taine Polzi after some good phase play.  Muirhead converted for a 14 – 12 lead.  Unfortunately for the hosts they squandered some opportunities and the score remained unchanged at the half time whistle.

Kearsney opened their account in the second half with a Muirhead penalty, following a tackle infringement by the visitors.  Kearsney was dominant in field territory and centre Derick Marshall received a switch pass from his flyhalf 15m out and impressed with his acceleration and power to score a deserving converted try and stretching the lead to 24 – 12.

The hosts seemed confident but a series of mistakes allowed Westville back into the race when they scored a converted try from winger Mkwanazi, shrinking the gap to 19 – 24.

Kearsney flyhalf Jacques Odendaal made up for not finding touch from an earlier penalty when he sliced through the defence after receiving the ball from an ensuing left-hand scrum.  Muirhead again converted, widening the gap to 31 – 19.

Westville made good of a catch and drive lineout and was awarded a penalty try when Kearsney was adjudged to have entered from the side of the maul, again shrinking the gap to 26 – 31.

Kearsney responded immediately from the kick-off when captain Sibu Sangweni collected a loose ruck ball, resulting from good pressure and physical contact, for Muirhead to convert and take the score to 38 – 26.

The match ended with another penalty try to the visitors, when a player was tackled in the air after collecting a chip kick 10m from the try line. The final score was 38 – 33 to Kearsney.

Results

1	Paul Roos Gimnasium	101	Swartland	0		Match Info
2	Paul Roos Gimnasium	78	Golden Lions XV	10	St John’s College	Match Info
3	Paul Roos Gimnasium	68	HTS Daniël Pienaar	5	St John’s College	Match Info
4	Paul Roos Gimnasium	68	Nelspruit	0	St John’s College	Match Info
5	Paul Roos Gimnasium	70	SACS	21		Match Info
6	Paul Roos Gimnasium	43	Grey High School	8		Match Info
7	Paul Roos Gimnasium	68	Menlopark	25		Match Info
8	Paul Roos Gimnasium	63	Waterkloof	12		Match Info
9	Paul Roos Gimnasium	32	Paarl Gimnasium	13		Match Info
10	Paul Roos Gimnasium	44	Diocesan College	21	Piley Rees	Match Info
11	Paul Roos Gimnasium	44	Paarl Boys’ High	8	Markotter
12	Paul Roos Gimnasium	42	Oakdale Landbou	21	Riversdal
13	Paul Roos Gimnasium	73	Wynberg Boys’ High	14	Markotter
14	Paul Roos Gimnasium	44	Rondebosch Boys’ High	17	Markotter
15	Paul Roos Gimnasium	30	Boland Landbou	15	Markotter
16	Paul Roos Gimnasium	26	Grey College	28	Bloemfontein

Players: Juan Mostert, JJ Kotze, Kade Wolhuter, Brendan Venter, Regan van der Westhuizen, Mink Scharink, Cade Croy, Hanru Jacobs, Remy Engelbrecht, Tiaan Pretorius, 

Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux made six changes to his starting team to face Wales at Cardiff Arms Park on Tuesday, most of which were rotational, as he looks to ensure that the players get the necessary game time before the World Rugby U20 Championship.

The team features a new centre pairing of Manuel Rass and Lyle Hendricks, while scrumhalf Zak Burger will join forces with Lubabalo Dobela at halfback in the three changes to backline.

The switches in the pack see a new-look front row with prop Nathan McBeth and hooker Schalk Erasmus start alongside Sazi Sandi, who retains his place in the starting XV, and Ben-Jason Dixon joins captain Salmaan Moerat in the second row.

Only one of the changes were injury enforced, as prop Alulutho Tshakweni took a knock to his knee against Scotland.

The expanded squad, featuring 25 players, includes three players who did not participate in the match against Scotland, namely prop Cohen Kiewit, scrumhalf Jack Hart and flyhalf David Coetzer.

Coetzer joined the squad in Cardiff on Tuesday as cover for Damian Willemse, who will remain with the DHL Stormers until the team assembles for their World Rugby U20 Championship holding camp.

“The World Rugby U20 Championship is drawing closer, so we have to ensure that everyone is ready for the tournament, and has sufficient game time under the belt, which is why we decided to make a few rotational switches,” said Roux.

“This will also allow us to further grow and develop the player combinations we have been working on. Our main purpose on this tour is to build toward the international spectacle in the south of France, so everything we do is geared toward that.”

Roux expected a testing encounter against Wales and said: “Wales will pose different challenges to Scotland and we expect that this challenge will be a notch up from our last outing, so we need to be switched on from the outset. The set phases will again be vital in laying a solid foundation, while I would also like us to get the tempo up from early on.”

The match kicks off at 15h00. The Junior Springboks will meet England in their final UK tour match on Friday at the Sixways Stadium in Worcester.

Junior Springbok team to face Wales in Cardiff:

15 – Gianni Lombard (Xerox Golden Lions)

14 – Tyrone Green (Xerox Golden Lions)

13 – Manuel Rass (Xerox Golden Lions)

12 – Lyle Hendricks (DHL Western Province)

11 – Sihle Njezula (DHL Western Province)

10 – Lubabalo Dobela (Toyota Free State)

9 – Zak Burger (Cell C Sharks)

8 – Muller Uys (DHL Western Province)

7 – PJ Steenkamp (Xerox Golden Lions)

6 – Dian Schoonees (Xerox Golden Lions)

5 – Ben-Jason Dixon (DHL Western Province)

4 – Salmaan Moerat (captain – DHL Western Province)

3 – Sazi Sandi (DHL Western Province)

2 – Schalk Erasmus (DHL Western Province)

1 – Nathan McBeth (Xerox Golden Lions)

Replacements:

16 – Daniel Jooste (DHL Western Province)

17 – Tiaan van der Merwe (Xerox Golden Lions)

18 – Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Xerox Golden Lions)

19 – Cohen Kiewit (Xerox Golden Lions)

20 – Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Blue Bulls)

21 – Phendulani Buthelezi (Cell C Sharks)

22 – Jack Hart (Xerox Golden Lions)

23 – Wandisile Simelane (Xerox Golden Lions)

24 – David Coetzer (DHL Western Province)

25 – Rikus Pretorius (DHL Western Province)

Issued by SA Rugby Communications