Junior Springbok coach Dawie Theron has shuffled his match-23 for the 2nd international rugby friendly against Argentina Under 20 (Los Pumitas) this coming Saturday in Rosario. The match will kick-off at 14:00 ARG Time (19:00 SA Time).
The young South Africans won the 1st meeting between the 2 sides 25 / 22 on Tuesday in Santa Fe. Both teams are using the 2-match series as their final warm-up for the World Rugby Under 20 Championship which will be hosted by Italy in June.
Theron elected to retain only a number of players from the starting 15 which managed to edge Los Pumitas, while he opted also for 2 positional changes.
Tighthead prop Thomas du Toit, Jason Jenkins (lock), Leolin Zas (left wing), Daniel du Plessis (inside centre) and JT Jackson (outside centre) will all start in their 2nd tour match. N0 8 Dan du Preez and right wing Grant Hermanus will however run out in different positions.
Du Preez moves to flank while Hermanus will wear the No 15 jersey. Fullback Warrick Gelant and prop Frans van Wyk were not considered for selection because of shoulder injuries.
Hanro Liebenberg of the Vodacom Blue Bulls returns to the starting line-up at the back of the scrum and will also take over the captaincy from Rikus Bothma (DHL Western Province) who led the side in Santa Fe. Liebenberg sat out the 1st tour match as precaution for his troubled hand.
Theron said the changes are part of the rotation plan to give each player some game time on tour.
“This tour is our last opportunity to have a close look at some combinations and to experiment with aspects of our game plan. We worked extremely hard in training to try and rectify our errors. Argentina gave us a huge wake-up call and I am glad the players responded very positively to that,” according to Theron.
The Junior Springbok coach added his team will now aim to start the rematch in a much more controlled manner.
“They disrupted us in the 1st half and did extremely well to stop us from getting momentum. That was because they were quick and clever at the breakdown and also moved the ball fast when in possession. It was the 1st match away from home for many of our players and I hope they have learnt from the mistakes.
“On Saturday our aim will be to start in a more controlled and calm manner so that we can impose our game plan. Our forwards showed how strong we are at set pieces and if we can manage to secure more quality possession and be patient, then our backs will show their quality,” said Theron.
Junior Springbok team: 15 Grant Hermanus (WP), 14 Khanyo Ngcukana (WP), 13 JT Jackson (Blue Bulls), 12 Daniel du Plessis (WP), 11 Leolin Zas (WP), 10 Brandon Thomson (WP), 9 Ivan van Zyl (Blue Bulls), 8 Hanro Liebenberg (Captain – Blue Bulls), 7 Jean-Luc du Preez (Sharks), 6 Dan du Preez (Sharks), 5 Hyron Andrews (Sharks), 4 Jason Jenkins (Blue Bulls), 3 Thomas du Toit (Sharks), 2 Jan van der Merwe (Blue Bulls), 1 Mzamo Majola (Sharks)
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba (Free State), 17 Njabulo Gumede (Blue Bulls), 18 Ruan Kramer (Sharks), 19 Abongile Nonkontwana (Blue Bulls), 20 Rikus Bothma (WP), 21 Marco Jansen van Vuren (Golden Lions), 22 Ernst Stapelberg (WP), 23 Malmcolm Jaer (EP Kings).