Just a day after Grey High’s Siya Kolisi was named Springbok skipper, there was more rugby honour for the Port Elizabeth school when former pupils Lubabalo Dobela and Sihle Njezula were named in the Baby Bok team to face Georgia tonight.
Njezula (wing, WP) will start and Dobela (flyhalf, Free State) is on the bench for the opening match of the World Rugby U20 Championship at Stade Aime Giral in Perpignan, France.Eastern Province prop Alulutho Tshakweni (a former Hudson Park pupil) has been named on the bench.
Junior Springbok flyhalf Damian Willemse will make his first appearance of the season for the SA U20s in a settled starting team which is favoured to cruise through the opener.
Willemse, one of seven players in the match-day squad who participated in the tournament in Georgia last year, will partner with Zak Burger at halfback after coming off a solid Super Rugby campaign for the Stormers in the last few months.
Lock and captain Salmaan Moerat, centre Wandisile Simelane, No 8 Muller Uys, fullback Gianni Lombard, hooker Daniel Jooste and replacement scrumhalf Rewan Kruger are the other players in coach Chean Roux’s match-23 who featured in the international spectacle in Tbilisi.
Moerat and Ruan Nortje will form the lock duo, while flankers Dian Schoonees and PJ Steenkamp pair up with Uys in the loose trio, and Rikus Pretorius and Simelane will do duty in the midfield.
Lombard starts at fullback, with Tyrone Green and Njezula at wing, while Jooste and props Sazi Sandi and Nathan McBeth will pack down in the front row.On the bench, replacement lock Ruan Nortje will make his Junior Springbok debut if he takes to the field after missing the team’s internationals in the lead-up to the tournament because of a knee injury.
“We were fortunate to be able to select a settled squad, which will be handy against a physical and passionate Georgian outfit,” Roux said.
“All the players are fit and eager to play.”
Roux said he was expecting a physical onslaught tonight.
“Georgia play with their hearts on their sleeves and they will take to the field with everything they have.
“They are a forward-driven team, with a good scrum and lineout maul, so they will probably try to lay the foundation there.
“But our plans for the game are mapped out and hopefully we can counter that.” The match kicks off at 6.30pm and will be broadcast live on SuperSport 1.