Newly-capped Springbok Sevens Zain Davids will lead the SA Under-20s against the Varsity Cup Dream Team at the Danie Craven Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux named his 23-man squad on Monday, which features six players who were in the run-on team in their last warm-up match against the Free State Cheetahs, as well as Davids and Stedman Gans.
Both players have been playing for the Blitzboks in the World Sevens Series in the last three months.
The players who retained their places in the starting team are right wing Manie Libbok, left wing Wandisile Simelane, flyhalf Damian Willemse, scrumhalf Embrose Papier, No 8 Len Massyn and prop Kwenzo Blose.
“This match will serve as the last chance to see what the players have to offer before we begin to finalise our squad for the World Rugby U20 Championship, so it is a significant match for the players and the coaches,” said Roux.
One-cap Stormers pivot Damian Willemse will start at flyhalf for the SA Under-20s. Photo: Chris Ricco, BackpagePix
“For some of our players this will be their first match with us, as injuries and other commitments ruled them out of contention for our other warm-up games, and we are excited to see what they have to offer.
“We showed encouraging progress as a squad in our last three games, and I hope that we can build on that against the Varsity Cup Dream Team.”
Roux, who guided Maties to three successive Varsity Cup titles, expects a tough challenge from the Dream Team, and said the match marked an important step in their preparations for the international spectacle in Georgia.
“We will be playing against the best U20 teams in the world in Georgia, and we need to be as well prepared as possible to have a shot at winning the title,” he said.
“I was pleased with our defence in our warm-up matches up to now, and I would like to see the team build on that high standard on Tuesday, and deliver a solid performance all round.”
The match will kick off at 7pm at the Danie Craven Stadium.
SA Under-20 Team
15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Manie Libbok, 13 Stedman Gans, 12.Wayne van der Bank, 11 Wandisile Simelane, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Len Massyn, 7 Muller Uys, 6 Zain Davids (captain), 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Carlü Sadie, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Kwenzo Blose.
Bench:16 PJ Botha, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wikus Groenewald, 19 Hendré Stassen, 20 Nama Xaba, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 Jean-Luc Cilliers.