Team news: Junior Boks stick to tried and trusted for U20 Championship opener

The match against the Aussies kicks off at 15h30 on Sunday afternoon at the San Michele Stadium in Calvisano.

When these two teams met last month, the Junior Boks opened up a 14-0 lead only to end up suffering a 29-24 defeat as the Aussies staged a major comeback.

Junior Bok head coach Kevin Foote has made one change in the backline and three in the pack from the side that were pipped by New Zealand in Gqeberha last month. Siya Ndlozi replaces Gino Cupido on the left wing, while the rest of the backline remains the same.

In the starting pack, two changes are made at the side of the scrum, with flankers Batho Hlekani and Xola Nyali forming the loose trio combination with No 8 Wandile Mlaba.

The other tweak to the pack is in the front row, where Herman Lubbe gets the nod at tighthead ahead of Jean Erasmus, who is now set to play off the bench. 

Amongst the backline replacements, flyhalf Ian van der Merwe and outside back Jaco Williams are in line to make their Junior Bok debuts should they come off the bench.

"We are extremely excited about starting the World Championship in Italy," said Foote.

"It's a great country and you can feel the energy within the group. The players have prepared well, they've got clarity, and they are just such a great group together."

On selecting his first matchday squad of the tournament, Foote explained that it was not an easy task.

"Selection is always tough and leaving some guys out is hard, but we've gone with a team that has played a lot together now, has a lot of synergy and understanding of our game, and knows how to connect on the field," he said.

"We are very excited about the team that we have selected, with Riley Norton captaining the side, and he will be assisted by Haashim Pead, JJ Theron and Siphosethu Mnebelele."

Foote also mentioned it was good to have lock Jaco Grobbelaar back with the team after the big lock completed his Vodacom United Rugby Championship duties with finalists Vodacom Bulls.

"He's trained very well since joining (last week)," he said. âœHaving his big physical presence is fundamental to the way we want to play, and the same goes for Jaco Williams (outside back), who also joined late after completing his Vodacom URC campaign with the Hollywoodbets Sharks. The nice thing about them is the calmness that they bring in their roles.â

Junior Springboks - 15 Gilermo Mentoe, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Demitre Erasmus, 12 Albie Bester, 11 Siyabonga Ndlozi, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Haashim Pead, 8 Wandile Mlaba, 7 Bathobele Hlekani, 6 Xola Nyali, 5 JJ Theron, 4 Riley Norton (captain), 3 Herman Lubbe, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Simphiwe Ngobese.

Replacements: 16 Jaundre Schoeman, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Jean Erasmus, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Erich Visser, 22 Ian van der Merwe, 23 Jaco Williams.

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