Do-or-die for Junior Boks

– Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux made three personnel changes to his team for their third and final pool match against Argentina at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship today.

Curwin Bosch, Ruben van Heerden and Hendre Stassen were drafted into the starting line-up as Bosch replaces Manie Libbok (above) at flyhalf, while Libbok switches to fullback in the place of Jeanluc Cilliers, who moves to the bench.

Up front, Van Heerden and Stassen will form a new lock pairing. Van Heerden, who missed the clash against Georgia after taking a knock against France, replaces Reinhard Nothnagel, while Stassen takes over from Salmaan Moerat.

Flanker Muller Uys, who joined the team in Georgia on Sunday morning as an injury replacement for Nama Xaba, will start on the bench in place of Zain Davids, who is serving a two-match suspension.

“We looked at the opposition, how fresh the players are, and their availability, and we feel that this is the best team for the Argentina clash,” said Roux.

He expects a challenging task against Argentina in what both teams will regard as a quarterfinal, and said his team had to deliver a solid performance all around to book their place in the playoff stages. The top team in each of the three pools will advance to the semifinal, along with the next best placed team on the log standings.

“I think Argentina will play a fast-paced game, but they also have a good scrum, so we need to be up for that.” said Roux. “Our defence also has to be sharp, and we need to play in the right areas.” – Own Correspondent