Baby Boks refreshed and ready for semis

JUNIOR Springbok coach Dawie Theron made two changes to his match-23 for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship semifinal against defending champions England tonight in Calvisano, Italy.

Western Province flank Rikus Bothma takes over the No 6 jersey from his provincial teammate Jacques Vermeulen, while Malcolm Jaer (EP Kings) replaces Grant Hermanus (WP) on the bench.

The rest of the match squad, who defeated Australia in Calvisano last Wednesday, was kept unchanged.

Theron said the changes were part of the team’s rotational policy.

“We know this tournament is a marathon and not a sprint and we therefore have to be sensible with our player management process. All the players are fit and in good shape and now they must go out and do the business.

“We are not looking at England’s previous result [they lost to France in their final pool match]. They are in the semifinals and will be looking to play in a third successive final.

“We know they will be highly motivated and will definitely have a good plan against us,” Theron said.

Theron and his conditioning staff have managed the activities of the Junior Bok squad carefully over the past few days to keep them fresh.

“Although we have seen some rain the past few days, the weather is still hot and humid and we therefore tried to give the players as much rest as possible.

“They are refreshed again and I am very pleased with their attitude and readiness.

“Earlier today [yesterday] we took them for an outing to Maranello, and we will finish off our preparations with the captain’s run in the early evening,” Theron said.

The Junior Springbok team is: