Varsity team will test Junior Boks
JUNIOR Springbok coach Dawie Theron has cautioned that his youngsters will face a tough battle when they take on a Varsity Cup Dream Team in Stellenbosch tonight.
It will be the first outing of the year for the Junior Boks as they finalise their preparations for this year’s World Championships in Italy in June.
Under Theron, the Junior Boks won the world title on home soil in 2012 and were runners-up in New Zealand last year, losing to England in the final. Along the way they beat the Junior All Blacks twice.
There are only four survivors from last year’s tournament competing in tonight’s fixture and in the current group only six played in the world champs last season.
“There seems to be a feeling that the Junior Boks will simply arrive and beat the Varsity Cup team,” Theron said.
“That’s not the case. The average age of the Junior Boks is 19 and four months and the Varsity Cup Dream Team is nearly 24. It’s a senior side, fresh out of the competition, taking on very young players.
“Some of the Varsity Cup team players also represented the Junior Boks over the past three years. Guys like Wiaan Liebenberg (who captained the Junior Boks to the World Championship crown in 2012), Nqobisizwe Mxoli, and Dayan van der Westhuizen understand our structures.
“It’s going to be tough – but what we need before the World Championships,” Theron said.
The Dream Team is made up of the best players from the recently concluded Varsity Cup, which saw Shimlas win for the first time. Losing semifinalists Tuks provide seven players to the squad with six players from tournament runners-up Pukke in the group. Shimlas only have four players on show.
Interestingly, SA under-20 squad member and Varsity Shield player Inny Radebe will be playing against his national teammates. For Theron it is ideal, as he will have a chance to assess Radebe against his peers – effectively a trial match for the under-20 flyhalves.
Radebe will be up against Ernst Stapelberg and Brandon Thompson. One of the trio will likely miss out on selection for the World Championships.
-Craig Ray
