Another Liebenberg leads Junior Boks
A total of 10 young players from the Blue Bulls were included in the final squad of the Junior Springboks who will soon depart to Italy for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship.
Blue Bulls No 8 Hanro Liebenberg will lead the Junior Springboks at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Italy next month, SARU confirmed yesterday.
Liebenberg will skipper the 28-man squad during the three-week tournament from 2 to 20 June. He led the Junior boks to a thrilling win over the Varsity Cup Dream Team last month and captained them when they clinched a 2-0 series win over the Argentina Under-20 side in Rosario last Saturday.
This appointment means that Liebenberg and his brother, Wiaan, will make history. It is the first time ever that two brothers were both selected as captain of the Junior boks.
Wiaan Liebenberg was the captain of this team when they won the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in 2012. He was also contracted to the Blue Bulls and he captained Tukkies in the Varsity Cup tournament this year.
Liebenberg’s appointment as captain means the Blue Bulls have delivered their seventh Junior boks captain in eight years. The year 2009 was the only one that did not see the Junior Boks being led by a player from Blue Bull ranks.
That year, the Junior Boks were led by Robert Ebersohn from the Cheetahs.
The seven Blue Bulls captains for the national junior side were Gerrit-Jan van Veltze (2008), CJ Stander (2010), Arno Botha (2011), Wiaan Liebenberg (2012), Ruan Steenkamp (2013), Handré Pollard (2014) and this year it is Handro Liebenberg.
The new squad chosen by the national selectors comprises 16 forwards and 12 backs. It includes six players who featured in last year’s tournament in New Zealand. Last year, England edged the young South Africans by a single point in a memorable final at Eden Park in Auckland.
Jean-Luc du Preez (flank), Thomas du Toit (prop, both Sharks), Joseph Dweba (hooker, Cheetahs), Abongile Nonkontwana (lock, Blue Bulls), Jacques Vermeulen (No 8, Western Province) and Warrick Gelant (fullback, Blue Bulls) are the players who will represent the Junior Boks for a second successive year.
The Junior Springboks squad shows four changes from the touring group that returned from Argentina on Monday evening.
Lock RG Snyman (Blue Bulls) got the nod to travel to Italy after he sat out the Los Pumitas series because of an ankle injury. WP centre EW Viljoen and Blue Bulls flyhalf Tinus de Beer, who also did not tour Argentina, were both selected for the Italian job.
The Du Preez twins, Dan and Jean-Luc, who were selected for the 2014 tournament, are also members of the 28-man squad. Dan, however, withdrew days before the team left for New Zealand last year because of a shoulder injury.
The Junior boks will assemble on Sunday for their final training camp in Stellenbosch. They will have field sessions next Monday and Tuesday at the Paul Roos Markotter Stadium, with the capping ceremony scheduled to take place on Tuesday evening. The squad will fly out to Italy next Wednesday afternoon.
Junior Springboks coach Dawie Theron said the squad boasted a well-balanced selection.
“I think we have selected a well-balanced squad with the prospect of some really good combinations. Although we expect dry weather conditions for the tournament, we have to take into account that all our group matches will be played at night. This is where your combinations will play an important role,” explains Theron.
“We have a good training camp behind us, culminating in a successful tour of Argentina. We will now conclude our preparations with two more sessions on Monday and Tuesday,” he added.
The SA Pool B fixtures at the U20 World Championship in Italy are:
Tuesday, 2 June
20h30 – SA vs Italy (in Calvisano)
Saturday, 6 June
18h30 – SA vs Samoa (in Parma)
Wednesday, 10 June
20h30 – SA vs Australia (in Calvisano)
The Junior Springbok squad for the 2015 World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Italy:
Forwards
Hyron Andrews (Sharks)
Rikus Bothma (WP)
Dan du Preez (Sharks)
Jean-Luc du Preez (Sharks)
Thomas du Toit (Sharks)
Joseph Dweba (Cheetahs)
Njabulo Gumede (Blue Bulls)
Jason Jenkins (Blue Bulls)
Hanro Liebenberg (Blue Bulls – captain)
Mzamo Majola (Sharks)
Ox Nche (Cheetahs)
Abongile Nonkontwana (Blue Bulls)
RG Snyman (Blue Bulls)
Jan van der Merwe (Blue Bulls)
Frans van Wyk (WP)
Jacques Vermeulen (WP)
Backs
Tinus de Beer (Blue Bulls)
Daniel du Plessis (WP)
Warrick Gelant (Blue Bulls)
Grant Hermanus (WP)
JT Jackson (Blue Bulls)
Malcolm Jaer (EP Kings)
Marco Jansen van Vuren (Lions)
Khanyo Ngcukana (WP)
Brandon Thomson (WP)
Ivan van Zyl (Blue Bulls)
EW Viljoen (WP)
Leolin Zas (WP)
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