CAPE TOWN – The South African Under-19 team is set to embark on a two-match tour to Georgia for friendlies in early December.
Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux said the players and coaching staff set to benefit from the experience.
From the players’ perspective, it will mark the first time some of them participate in an overseas tour.
Roux and his assistant coaches will get good insight into what their charges have to offer on the field under pressure and outside of their comfort zones.
The squad gathered at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport on Sunday and took the field for the first time on Monday.
They will continue their preparations in Stellenbosch until Wednesday, with the squad set to depart for the Georgian capital later that evening.
They will face the Georgian U19 team on 2nd and 5th December.
“It is good to get the players together and to be back on the field,” said Roux. “Some of them come off a season-ending break and others from pre-season programmes at their provincial unions, so they are at different stages of training at this point. But the enthusiasm in the squad is high, and that is all we can ask for.
“This tour originated from an invitation from Georgia to come on tour and play two matches against their junior teams, and it replaces our usual Under-18 and Under-19 assessment camps.
“It will certainly push us out of our comfort zones because it is not only another country, but we will also be playing in very cold conditions. So it will be a good adventure.
“For the coaches, in particular, it will offer us an opportunity to learn a lot more about the players than that which we would generally see at training camps in Stellenbosch and Potchefstroom for example, so it is going to be a fantastic experience.”
Looking at the bigger picture with the eye on the future, Roux added: “SA Rugby has a few plans, especially with the new contracting model, and these types of camps and tours give us a good insight into where the talent is and where the shortcomings are.
"And that is exactly what we would like to achieve from this tour. So we are looking forward to it.”