Hanro gets the Baby Bok armband
BLUE BULLS No 8 Hanro Liebenberg will lead the Junior Springboks at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Italy next month, SARU confirmed on Wednesday.
Liebenberg will skipper the 28man squad during the three-week tournament from 2 to 20 June. He led the Baby Boks to a thrilling win over the Varsity Cup Dream Team last month and also captained them when they clinched a 2-0 series win over the Argentina Under-20 side in Rosario last Saturday.
The squad, which was chosen by the national selectors, consists of 16 forwards and 12 backs, and includes six players who featured in last year’s tournament in New Zealand. Last year England edged the young South Africans by a single point in a memorable final at Eden Park in Auckland.
The Junior Springbok squad shows four changes from the touring group that returned from Argentina on Monday evening.
Lock RG Snyman (Blue Bulls) got the nod to travel to Italy after he sat out the Los Pumitas series because of an ankle injury. WP centre EW Viljoen and Blue Bulls flyhalf Tinus de Beer, who also did not tour Argentina, were both selected for the Italian job.
The Du Preez twins, Dan and
Backs Fixtures (All games SA time) June 2:
June 10:
June 6: Jean-Luc, who were selected for the 2014 tournament, are also members of the 28-man squad. Dan, however, withdrew days before the team left for New Zealand last year because of a shoulder injury.
The Junior Boks will assemble on Sunday for their final training camp in Stellenbosch. They will have field sessions next Monday and Tuesday at the Paul Roos Markotter Stadium, with the capping ceremony scheduled to take place on Tuesday evening. The squad will fly out to Italy next Wednesday afternoon.
Coach Dawie Theron said the squad boasts a well-balanced selection. “I think we have selected a well-balanced squad with the prospect of some really good combinations. Although we expect dry weather conditions for the tournament, we have to take into account that all our group matches will be played at night. This is where your combinations will play an important role,” explains Theron.
“We have a good training camp behind us, culminating in a successful tour of Argentina. We will now conclude our preparations with two more sessions on Monday and Tuesday.”