Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux has named Ernst van Rhyn from Western Province as captain of the SA Under-20 squad for the World Rugby U20 Championship in Tbilisi, Georgia, with eight players amongst the chosen 28 who played in the same tournament last year.

Van Rhyn, Curwin Bosch, Kwenzo Blose, Carlű Sadie, Zain Davids, Stedman Gans, Manie Libbok and Embrose Papier were all members of the Junior Springbok team that finished fourth in the World Rugby U20 Championship in Manchester in 2016.

Roux’s squad also includes six players who represented the SA Schools team last season in the U19 International Series, namely Salmaan Moerat, who captained the team, Gianni Lombard, Rewan Kruger, Wandisile Simelane, Damian Willemse and Daniel Jooste.

While Bosch has been a stand-out performer for the Cell C Sharks in Super Rugby, Willemse made his debut for the Stormers, while Davids and Gans have been with the Springbok Sevens squad for the last three months.

The team will be led by experienced captain Van Rhyn, who was the SA U20 vice-captain last season and the SA Schools captain in 2015, while Johan Grobbelaar, a hooker form the Blue Bulls, has been named the vice-captain.

Grobbelaar is one of seven Blue Bulls players in the squad.

“We are pleased with the quality of the players in our squad and we believe the team has the potential to go all the way in the competition,” said Roux.

“We had to make a number of tough calls to narrow down the group to 28 players, but we are confident that we have selected a squad worthy of competing against the best teams in the world in Georgia.  A number of the players have experienced international age-group rugby either in the World Rugby U20 Championship or the U19 International Series, while others have been exposed to International Sevens and Super Rugby, which will be invaluable in Georgia,” Roux continued.

Commenting on the selection of the captain, Roux spoke highly of Van Rhyn.

“Ernst is a hard worker on the field and has proved his worth as a leader in the last few seasons at the SA Schools team and the SA U20s last year. A captain has to lead by example and ensure that there is cohesion in the team at all times, and these qualities will be vital in guiding us through the competition,” the coach concluded.

The Junior Springboks will face France, Georgia and Argentina in the pool stages of the international spectacle in Tbilisi, which runs from 31 May to 18 June. The team will depart for Georgia on Thursday, 25 May.

Junior Springbok squad for the World Rugby U20 Championship (alphabetical order): Juarno Augustus (Western Province), Kwenzo Blose (Free State), Curwin Bosch (Sharks), David Brits (Western Province), Jean-Luc Cilliers (Lions), Zain Davids (Western Province), Francois de Villiers (Sharks), Stedman Gans (Blue Bulls), Johan Grobbelaar (Blue Bulls – vice-captain), Wikus Groenewald (Western Province), Daniel Jooste (Western Province), Rewan Kruger (Cheetahs), Manie Libbok Blue Bulls), Gianni Lombard (Lions), Len Massyn (Lions), Lee-Marvin Mazibuko (Western Province), Salmaan Moerat (Western Province), Reinhard Nothnagel (Lions), Embrose Papier (Blue Bulls), Yaw Penxe (Eastern Province), Carlu Sadie (Western Province), Wandisile Simelane (Lions), Hendre Stassen (Blue Bulls), Gerhard Steenekamp (Blue Bulls), Ruben van Heerden (Blue Bulls), Damian Willemse (Western Province), Nama Xaba (Western Province), Ernst van Rhyn (captain – (Western Province).