Following his unsuccessful spell as part of the senior Springbok coaching staff, new South African under-20 head coach Chean Roux as well as his his newly appointed assistant Mzwandile Stick who was also downgraded from the same Bok setup, have another very difficult assignment on their hands. They basically have exactly three months until the kickoff of the World Rugby’s U20 Championship in Georgia.
Junior Springboks (Under-20s) coaching team:
Head Coach: Chean Roux. Assistant Coach: Mzwandile Stick. Team Doctor: Jerome Mampane. Physiotherapist: Karabo Morokane. Technical Analyst: Hayden Groepes.
World Rugby u20 Championship fixtures:
| MATCH | POOL | DATE | TEAM | TEAM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Wed 31May | England U20 | Samoa U20 | ||
| 2 | B | Wed 31May | New Zealand U20 | Scotland U20 | ||
| 3 | C | Wed 31May | South Africa U20 | France U20 | ||
| 4 | B | Wed 31May | Ireland U20 | Italy U20 | ||
| 5 | C | Wed 31May | Argentina U20 | Georgia U20 | ||
| 6 | A | Wed 31May | Australia U20 | Wales U20 | ||
| 7 | C | Sun 04Jun | Argentina U20 | France U20 | ||
| 8 | B | Sun 04Jun | Ireland U20 | Scotland U20 | ||
| 9 | A | Sun 04Jun | Australia U20 | Samoa U20 | ||
| 10 | B | Sun 04Jun | New Zealand U20 | Italy U20 | ||
| 11 | C | Sun 04Jun | South Africa U20 | Georgia U20 | ||
| 12 | A | Sun 04Jun | England U20 | Wales U20 | ||
| 13 | A | Thu 08Jun | Wales U20 | Samoa U20 | ||
| 14 | B | Thu 08Jun | Scotland U20 | Italy U20 | ||
| 15 | C | Thu 08Jun | Argentina U20 | South Africa U20 | ||
| 16 | B | Thu 08Jun | Ireland U20 | New Zealand U20 | ||
| 17 | C | Thu 08Jun | France U20 | Georgia U20 | ||
| 18 | A | Thu 08Jun | England U20 | Australia U20 | ||
| 19 | Tue 13Jun | 10th Seed | 11th Seed | |||
| 20 | Tue 13Jun | 9th Seed | 12th Seed | |||
| 21 | Tue 13Jun | 5th Seed | 8th Seed | |||
| 22 | Tue 13Jun | 6th Seed | 7th Seed | |||
| 23 | S/FINAL | Tue 13Jun | 2nd Seed | 3rd Seed | ||
| 24 | S/FINAL | Tue 13Jun | 1st Seed | 4th Seed | ||
| 25 | 11th/12th | Sun 18Jun | Loser Match 19 | Loser Match 20 | ||
| 26 | 5th/6th | Sun 18Jun | Winner Match 21 | Winner Match 22 | ||
| 27 | 9th/10th | Sun 18Jun | Winner Match 19 | Winner Match 20 | ||
| 28 | 3rd/4th | Sun 18Jun | Loser Match 23 | Loser Match 24 | ||
| 29 | 7th/8th | Sun 18Jun | Loser Match 21 | Loser Match 22 | ||
| 30 | FINAL | Sun 18Jun | Winner Match 23 | Winner Match 24 |
Squad of 50
| # | POS | NAME | SCHOOL | A/G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PR | Carlu Sadie | Bellville | 1 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 2 | PR | Kwenze Blose | Glenwood | 1 of 5 Free State | u20 |
| 3 | PR | Khuthu Mchunu | Glenwood | 1 of 6 Sharks | u20 |
| 4 | PR | Leo Kruger | HJS Paarl BH | 1 of 11 Lions | u20 |
| 5 | PR | Wikus Groenewald | HJS Paarl BH | 2 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 6 | PR | Lee-Marvin Mazibuko | Michaelhouse | 3 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 7 | PR | Gerhard Steenekamp | Potch Gim | 1 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 8 | PR | Tiny Mukhari | Pretoria BH | 2 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 9 | PR | Andrew Kuhn | Outeniqua | 2 of 5 Free State | u20 |
| 10 | PR | Abram Venter | De Aar | 3 of 5 Free State | u20 |
| 11 | HK | Marnus vd Merwe | Nelspruit | 4 of 5 Free State | u20 |
| 12 | HK | HP van Schoor | Oakdale | 2 of 11 Lions | u20 |
| 13 | HK | Johan Grobbelaar | Paarl Gim | 3 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 14 | HK | Abraham Coetzee | Paul Roos | 5 of 5 Free State | u20 |
| 15 | LK | Ruben van Heerden | Affies | 4 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 16 | LK | Hendre Stassen | EG Jansen | 5 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 17 | LK | Ruben de Villiers | HJS Paarl BH | 4 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 18 | LK | Salmaan Moerat | HJS Paarl BH | 5 of 14 WP | u19 |
| 19 | LK | Reinhard Nothnagel | Monument | 3 of 11 Lions | u20 |
| 20 | LK | Cobus Wiese | Upington | 6 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 21 | LF | Eduan Lubbe | Affies | 6 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 22 | LF | Jaco Bezuidenhout | Garsfontein | 7 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 23 | LF | Nama Xaba | Glenwood | 7 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 24 | LF | Hacjivah Dayimani | Jeppe | 4 of 11 Lions | u20 |
| 25 | LF | Len Massyn | Monument | 5 of 11 Lions | u20 |
| 26 | LF | Ernst van Rhyn | Paarl Gim | 8 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 27 | LF | Muller Uys | Paarl Gim | 9 of 14 WP | u19 |
| 28 | LF | Zain Davids | Rondebosch | 10 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 29 | LF | Jaurno Augustus | Tygerberg | 11 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 30 | SH | Embrose Papier | Garsfontein | 8 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 31 | SH | Bradley Thain | HJS Paarl BH | 6 of 11 Lions | u20 |
| 32 | SH | Francois de Villiers | HTS Middelburg | 2 of 6 Sharks | u20 |
| 33 | SH | Jondre Williams | Boland Landbou | 12 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 34 | FH | Benhard Jv Rensburg | Frikkie Meyer | 3 of 6 Sharks | u20 |
| 35 | FH | Curwin Bosch | Grey HS | 4 of 6 Sharks | u20 |
| 36 | FH | Manie Libbok | Outeniqua | 9 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 37 | FH | Damian Willemse | Paul Roos | 13 of 14 WP | u19 |
| 38 | CT | Cornel Smit | Bishops | 14 of 14 WP | u20 |
| 39 | CT | Heino Bezuidenhout | Daniel Pienaar | 10 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 40 | CT | Irvin Ali | EG Jansen | 11 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 41 | CT | Manny Rass | HJS Paarl BH | 7 of 11 Lions | u19 |
| 42 | CT | Wandile Simelane | Jeppe | 8 of 11 Lions | u19 |
| 43 | CT | Wayne vd Bank | Menlopark | 9 of 11 Lions | u20 |
| 44 | CT | Stedman Gans | Waterkloof | 12 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 45 | WG | Ilunga Mukendi | Glenwood | 5 of 6 Sharks | u20 |
| 46 | WG | Michael Tambwe | Parktown | 10 of 11 Lions | u20 |
| 47 | WG | Yaw Penxe | Queen’s | 1 of 1 Kings | u20 |
| 48 | WG | Ciaran Dayaram | SACS | 13 of 13 Bulls | u20 |
| 49 | WG | Mfundu Ndlovu | Standerton | 6 of 6 Sharks | u20 |
| 50 | FB | Gianni Lombard | HJS Paarl BH | 11 of 11 Lions | u19 |
Clean Roux???
Nonetheless one would think SARU would have learned a lesson from the Boks that appointing a ‘shotgun’ coach a couple of months before a test does no one any good.I hope the talent in this group will put dignity to their campaign.
@beet: some very talented players left out, but many of them also still u/19. Especially props, locks and hookers tend to get better with age – kind of work hardening.
@Die Ken: Ruan Vermaak fortunately has another year and I think based on the quality of this year’s locks compared with next year, he will probably walk into the u20 team in 2018.
JL Cilliers is an outstanding kicker. A real points machine. He’s not a glamorous ball in hand player but he is safe as houses / reliable. I watched him in the match vs Monnas at St Johns a couple of years back and the accuracy of his high ball punts was appreciated. It’s one thing to hoof and chase but a different art to tactically give a ball the sort of hang-time and placement to allow a chaser to contest it as an almost 50:50 challenge.
Haven’t seen Vissie play since school when he really proved to be a proper specialist, so can’t comment about his form. SA has never been small loose-forward friendly and by small I mean anything below 1.87m, so can understand in a sense why he might have been overlooked.
@beet: Voel rerig jammer vir Adre Smith, Josh Vermeulen, JL Cilliers, Nico Leonard, David Brits, Johan Visser en Ruan Vermaak
@boerboel: Good question. Jurie’s biggest buddy. Only explanation.
Here are all the cut players:
1 PR Cabous Eloff Affies 1 of 9 Bulls u19
2 PR Nathan McBeth Monument 1 of 11 Lions u19
3 PR Simphiwe Matanzima Queen’s 2 of 9 Bulls u20
4 HK Duan du Plessis Daniel Pienaar 1 of 3 Kings u20
5 HK Daniel Jooste HJS Paarl BH 1 of 9 WP u19
6 HK PJ Botha Monument 2 of 11 Lions u19
7 LK Kwandu Dimaza Dale 1 of 3 Sharks u20
8 LK Ruan Vermaak Monument 3 of 11 Lions u19
9 LK Adre Smith Oakdale 4 of 11 Lions u20
10 LF Ryno Pieterse Garsfontein 3 of 9 Bulls u19
11 LF Kamva Dilima Grey HS 2 of 3 Kings u20
12 LF Kwezi Mafu Grey HS 4 of 9 Bulls u19
13 LF Edmund Rheeder Klerksdorp 1 of 1 Leopards u20
14 LF Bertie De Bod Oakdale 1 of 3 Free State u20
15 LF Johan Visser Paarl Gim 2 of 9 WP u20
16 LF Clifferd Jacobs Pionier 2 of 3 Sharks u20
17 SH Rewan Kruger Grey College 2 of 3 Free State u19
18 SH Richman Gora Welkom Gim 5 of 9 Bulls u19
19 FH Eddie Fouche Affies 5 of 11 Lions u20
20 FH Courtney Winnaar Dale 3 of 3 Kings u20
21 FH Tyron Green Jeppe 6 of 11 Lions u19
22 FH Bader Pretorius Michaelhouse 7 of 11 Lions u20
23 FH Christo Hamman Oakdale 6 of 9 Bulls u20
24 CT Louritz vd Schyff Affies 8 of 11 Lions u19
25 CT Kurt Eybers Oakdale 3 of 3 Free State u20
26 CT Taigh Schoor Paarl Gim 3 of 3 Sharks u20
27 CT David Brits Selborne 3 of 9 WP u20
28 WG Christiaan Strydom Affies 7 of 9 Bulls u19
29 WG Ryan Muller Bellville 4 of 9 WP u20
30 WG Tyreeq February HJS Paarl BH 9 of 11 Lions u20
31 WG Andell Loubser Menlopark 8 of 9 Bulls u20
32 WG Stean Pienaar Menlopark 10 of 11 Lions u20
33 WG Nico Leonard Paul Roos 5 of 9 WP u20
34 WG Sakoyisa Makata Stirling 6 of 9 WP u20
35 FB Tristan Leyds Bishops 7 of 9 WP u20
36 FB Earll Douwrie Drostdy 9 of 9 Bulls u20
37 FB Abner van Reenen Garsfontein/HJS 8 of 9 WP u20
38 FB Jeanluc Cilliers HJS Paarl BH 11 of 11 Lions u20
39 FB Josh Vermeulen Paul Roos 9 of 9 WP u20
@Slam:
I guess since the squad is still 50 strong these players caught my eye as surprise omission of the u20 players
Adre Smith Oakdale
Bader Pretorius Michaelhouse
David Brits Selborne
Nico Leonard Paul Roos
Josh Vermeulen Paul Roos
@Rugbymal: The lack of preparation drives me insane. It’s not rocket science to work out why Eng have won the JWC three out of the four previous tournaments. Some saying this crop is one of the most talented yet given the experience some of these guys are getting in senior rugby.
@beet: who are the notable exclusions from the original group of 85? Lock seems to be hotly contested this year
@Kattes-Strofes: Sorry I mixed him up with Deon Carstens
Old age
@Slam: Cant agree more. None of these guys apart from Bosch has had actual real game time. We are still stuck at a group of 50 guys while these Northern Hemisphere guys are already in squad format getting playing time and gelling as a unit.
Have just read the article on the training camps an so on. Why send the guys up and down 2 weeks here 1 week there. Why not keep them together and build a unit.
Ek is bly om HP nog daar te sien as een van die hakers. Geluk ook Kattes met Leo wat nog is groep is.
@beet: Beet ! Jondre Williams is also u/20.
@Skopgraaf243: McBeth will have another shot at selection in 2018.
Unlike last year’s team which contained u19 players Van Rhyn, de Villiers, Sadie, Davids and Wiese in the pack, this year it looks like the forwards will pretty much be u20 players with the possible exception of Moerat. I guess one probably should not write off Uys just yet either. He’s a nice big lad and really useful ballcarrier in the Billy Vunipola / Facunda Isa mold.
@Kattes-Strofes: Yes I withdraw my comment from earlier.
I posted the 50-players squad earlier. It’s up above.
No room for Nathan McBeth?
Beet ! I see that they have now announced the squad of 50 players on SA Rugby,s site.
@boerboel: I’m not a big fan either!!!
Chean Roux-why? Because he is already on Sarfu”s payroll?
@Rugbymal: Agree. The England U20 side has been tearing up the 6N and most of their squad have been gaining valuable experience playing in the Aviva Premiership, A League, Anglo-Welsh Cup or dual registered in the Championship. Feeling negative about our chances when we’ve only had a couple of training camps and some of the guys have been pissing about in the Varsity Cup, Young Guns competition or holding tackle bags during the Super Rugby preseason.
@Rugbymal: It’s a pity that things are so disorganised because this was one of those talented years coming out of school and they might have been formidable title contenders with the right sort of preparation. Perhaps they can still surprise all but the situation is looking a little bleak at the moment.
90 days that’s while the other countries in 6 nations are starting their games already with all the preparations done. Don’t think we should expect to much of them.
@Kattes-Strofes: I doubt they will give me the list at this stage Kattes. They have become very protective about disclosing certain information and I think there intentions are good in this regard. It doesn’t help satisfy our curiosity tho
A squad of plus minus 45 players, which was reduced from the original 86, will attend a two week training camp at Stellenbosch, starting this Monday.The names of the players invited,was only made available to the various unions.I know the names of quite a few players, but maybe you can get the full list from SA Rugby, Beet ?