SA Schools' stars boost Baby Boks
Former South Africa Schools' star flanks Lean Schwartz and Jean Cook were on Tuesday named in the SA Under-20 starting line-up to play against Argentina U20 in Vredenburg on Wednesday.
Both players represented the SA Under-18 High Performance team in international friendlies against France last year. Along with with No.8 and captain CJ Stander, who represented the Baby Boks at the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship in Japan, they form a formidable loose forward combination for the Baby Boks.
Fullback Garth April, centre Jaco Toute and lock Kenny Okafor who missed the SA U20's recent tour to France due to injury have all been selected for the 24-man squad for Wednesday’s junior international.
Toute and Ruan Combrink will form the centre combination. Wing Clayton Blommetjies, who was a member of the SA U20 squad which competed at the 2009 World Championship in Japan, and Jamba Ulengo (wing), will join April to complete the back three formation for the hosts.
Francois du Toit (Shimlas), who has been one of the outstanding performers for the Shimlas in the FNB Varsity Cup this season, has been selected at flyhalf, while Justin van Staden, who represented Tuks during their 64-17 defeat to the Maties in Monday’s Varsity Cup match, has been drafted on to the bench for Wednesday’s Test.
"We want to build on from where we left off in France," said SA U20 head coach Eric Sauls.
"There were certain aspects in our play such as our defence, scrums and line-outs that were good, but can get better with the more games we play as a team. Due to the extreme cold and wet conditions in France, it was difficult to play much attacking rugby, which is also something we hope to get right during our games against the Argentineans.
"However, we all know that any Argentinean national team scrums well and have always boasted a strong pack of forwards. So I am looking forward to seeing how our guys compete up front against them.
"Argentinean teams have always prided themselves with solid defensive systems. We want to test ourselves against them and see how we cope with our plays," said Sauls.
Teams:
SA U20: 15 Garth April, 14 Clayton Blommetjies, 13 Jaco Toute, 12 Ruan Combrink, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Francios du Toit, 9 Frederick Muller, 8 CJ Stander (captain), 7 Jean Cook, 6 Lean Schwartz, 5 Mlungisi Bali, 4 Peet Marais, 3 Marcell van der Merwe, 2 Francois du Toit, 1 Wessel du Rand.
Replacements: 16 Shaun Melton, 17 Brummer Badenhorst, 18 Sebastian de Chaves, 19 Hendrick van der Waldt, 20 Helmut Lehmann, 21 Kenny Okafor, 22 Tiaan Dorfling, 23 Gary van Aswegen, 24 Justin van Staden.
Argentina U20: TBC
Date: Wednesday, March 3
Venue: Vredenburg Rugby Club, Western Cape
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Referee: Ben Crouse (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Lusanda Jam (South Africa), Marc van Zyl (South Africa)
Assessor: Thuso Mngqibisa (South Africa)