Six-try Wandile on cloud nine

Junior Springbok vice-captain and centre Wandisile Simelane (above), who capped off the World Rugby Under-20 Championship with the honour of being the joint top try-scorer with six tries, looked back on the competition with fond memories as the team prepared to depart for South Africa last night.

The Junior Springboks finished the tournament – hosted in the south of France – in third place after delivering a strong performance in the bronze playoff to defeat New Zealand 40-30 on Sunday.

“It is a fantastic tournament,” said Simelane, who scored a hattrick in the team’s second pool match against Ireland.

“We came all the way to France as 20-year-olds, and we were based in a very small town called Gruissan. This experience allowed us to learn about different cultures and meet new people, even though the language barrier was a challenge.

“From a rugby perspective, this a mentally and physically demanding competition. There are only four days in between games, so it asks a lot of the players. But it was a great experience for me and the team.”

Of being handed the vice-captaincy after Damian Willemse was ruled out because of injury, Simelane said: “It was easy because everyone played their part, so it was a fantastic experience. This was the first or second time that I took up a leadership role in a national team, and it motivated me to bring that 5% extra every time I had the opportunity to do so.” – Own Correspondent