The Junior Springboks will have given all but one of the players in their Junior World Championship squad a run by the end of their match against Georgia.
Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote has made wholesale changes to his starting XV for their Junior World Championship game against Georgia in Tbilisi on Thursday. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The Junior Springboks made sweeping changes to their starting XV for their second game of the U20 Junior World Championships against hosts Georgia at the Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi on Thursday night (kick-off 6.30pm).
Just four players have survived in the starting lineup from their huge 104-7 thumping of Uruguay in their tournament opener last weekend, and by the end of the game the only player in the 30-man squad to have not played will be flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed who is serving a ban.
Junior Bok coach Kevin Foote said that despite the number of changes made he expected a high intensity game, with a number of the players coming in having only joined the group after representing the SA A team against Zimbabwe just over a week ago, and he expected them to hit the ground running.
“The intensity will be very high. The guys would all have loved to play the first game, but some of those guys weren’t with us just before we left (in the build-up to the World Champs) and we were planning for Uruguay with a team that is quite settled,” explained Foote.
“Now guys have been with us in camp for a week and can bring a lot of intensity which we expect them to do against Georgia. Especially in our pack, we have four or five fresh guys coming in, so we are excited for that.”
Rotation plan
Foote admitted the plan had always been to rotate the squad over the first two games, so that they could make sure everyone had game time under their belts, before picking a more consistent and settled side for the final pool match and the play-offs.
“Everyone performed well (against Uruguay), so it is never easy (picking the team), but our plan had always been to give everyone in the squad a go by the second game,” said Foote.
“It is lucky if you can play everyone in the squad in two games, so everyone is battle ready. So the guys knew we were going to be rotating and everyone had clarity around that.
“I think the main thing is making sure everyone has had a game and is battle ready. Everyone is clear on how we want to play and what their role is. So we are lucky with that, and our medical team is doing an exceptional job in making sure everyone is fit and ready.”
If the Junior Boks can get a bonus point win over Georgia, it will put them in the pound seats to finish top of their group ahead of their final pool match against Wales in Tbilisi next Tuesday, and on course to defend the title they clinched in Italy last year.
