CAPE TOWN – Curwin Bosch has already had the tongues wagging in Super Rugby, and now he has the chance to make a big impact in the upcoming World U20 Championship as well.
Bosch has turned in a series of all-round impressive performances for the Sharks, and landed some vital kicks in their morale-boosting win over the Jaguares last Saturday.
Bosch has been spoken about as a contender for the Bok No 10 jersey against the French next month, but this selection has clouded that picture somewhat.
Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux has named Ernst van Rhyn as captain for the World Rugby U20 Championship in Tbilisi, Georgia in May and June. Eight players in the 28-man squad also played in the same tournament last year.
Van Rhyn, Bosch, Kwenzo Blose, Carl Sadie, Zain Davids, Stedman Gans, Manie Libbok and Embrose Papier were all members of the Junior Springbok team that finished fourth in the World U20 Championship in Manchester in 2016.
Roux’s squad also includes six players who represented the SA Schools team last season in the U19 International Series, namely Salmaan Moerat, who captained the team, Gianni Lombard, Rewan Kruger, Wandisile Simelane, Damian Willemse and Daniel Jooste.
Flyhalf Willemse has just flown over to join the Stormers squad in Wellington, while Davids and Gans have been with the Bok Sevens squad for the past three months.
The team will be led by experienced captain Van Rhyn, who was the SA U20 vice-captain last season and the SA Schools captain in 2015, while Johan Grobbelaar has been named the vice-captain.
“We are pleased with the quality of the players in our squad and we believe the team has the potential to go all the way in the competition,” said Roux.