Junior Boks name team to face Fiji in U-20 world champs opener

The Junior Springboks have included three uncapped players in their match-day squad for their 2024 World Rugby Under-20 Championship opening match against Fiji at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (7pm).

Hooker Luca Bakkes, flyhalf Liam Koen and outside back Likhona Finca are the new players named by Junior Bok coach Bafana Nhleko, as he announced his starting XV and bench on Thursday.

Bakkes will make his run-on debut and packs down in the front row between props Ruan Swart and Zachary Porthen, the Junior Bok captain. Finca is set to make his debut off the bench should he be sent on. Koen will wear the No 10 jersey.

The rest of the Junior Boks line-up and bench consists of players who participated in the recent Sanzaar U-20 Rugby Championship in Queensland, Australia.

The starting line-up has five changes and a positional switch from the run-on side that beat Argentina in the last Sanzaar match at Sunshine Coast Stadium, while there are several tweaks among the reserves.

Apart from Bakkes’ inclusion in the front row in place of Juan Smal, there is also a change at No 4 lock with Thomas Dyer sitting out because of a niggle — the versatile Bathobele Hlekani moves from the side of the scrum to form the lock partnership with JF van Heerden.

Thabang Mphafi, who came off the bench against Argentina U-20s, fills Hlekani’s position at No 7 flank, with Siba Mahashe (No 6) and Tiaan Jacobs (No 8) the rest of the loose forwards.

Koen debuts as the playmaker, partnering scrumhalf Asad Moos in a new-look half-back pairing.

The only other backline change sees Michail Damon at fullback in place of Bruce Sherwood.

Nhleko said the team has worked hard over the past week and on the lessons from the Rugby Championship in Australia and is ready to meet the challenge of Fiji.

“We had a good holding camp in Stellenbosch last week and since our move to our tournament base in Green Point on Tuesday the focus has been on fine-tuning preparations,” he said.

Fiji come into the tournament on the back of their recent success in the Oceania tournament over fellow Pacific neighbours Tonga, Moana Pasifika and Samoa.

“Fiji are a team with threats all round the park; big strong boys with excellent balls skills and dangerous with ball in hand. You need to be on it for 80 minutes concentration-wise to deal with their threats,” Nhleko said.

“For us it’s about excelling in our fundamentals, maintaining our strengths around playing from the set piece and being in a position to make the right decisions when there are opportunities. The contact area behaviours will be key on both sides of the ball.”

The match is the first of three Pool C games for the South Africa U-20s, whose other group games are against Argentina and England.

The squad also had to make three replacements because of recent injuries. Prop Reno Hirst, lock Adam de Waal and fullback JC Marsh will all miss the Championship through injury.

Hirst hurt his knee; De Waal has been ruled out with a hip injury and a concussion means Mars will miss at least the first two matches. Their replacements are Herman Lubbe (prop, Western Province), Jaco Grobbelaar (lock, Bulls) and Hassiem Pead (fullback, WP).

Junior Boks XV: 15. Michail Damon, 14. Joel Leotlela, 13. Jurenzo Julius, 12. Joshua Boulle, 11. Litelihle Bester, 10. Liam Koen, 9. Asad Moos, 8. Tiaan Jacobs, 7. Thabang Mphafi, 6. Sibabalwe Mahashe, 5. JF van Heerden, 4. Bathobele Hlekani, 3. Zachary Porthen (capt), 2. Luca Bakkes, 1. Ruan Swart

Replacements: 16. Juan Smal, 17. Liyema Ntshanga, 18. Casper Badenhorst, 19. Keanu Coetsee, 20. Divan Fuller, 21. Ezekiel Ngobeni, 22. Tylor Sefoor, 23. Likhona Finca