SA Rugby has confirmed that the Junior Springboks will be without DHL Stormers star Suleiman Hartzenberg for the U20 World Championship due to injury.
The SA Rugby Academy squad is scheduled to play two friendlies over the course of the next week in preparation for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship which kicks off at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch on 24 June.
The travelling group of players and management leave Cape Town for Johannesburg on Thursday, and they will face the Lions on the same day. The squad then travels to KwaZulu-Natal, where they will go into a short training camp before facing the Sharks (17 May).
Following the tour, the tight five will have a short camp while the rest of the players head home for a short break. The squad will reconvene at their base at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport on Sunday, 21 May.
There were also some player movements in the Academy squad. Suleiman Hartzenberg has been ruled out due to a knee injury, while the DHL Western Province duo of Damian Markus (outside back) and Hennie Sieberhagen (lock) have joined the squad.
Bruce Sherwood and Grant de Jager (both WP), Katlego Lebokeng (Cheetahs), Neels Volschenk (Vodacom Bulls) and Sibabalwe Mahashe (Lions) were released to their provinces, although they may be called upon to re-join the programme at a later stage.
“We had our first proper match last week against the Kenyan side and the next step would be to lift our intensity in terms of actually playing and executing in match situations,” said Junior Springbok head coach Bafana Nhleko.
“We’ve been together for just under a month and I can only praise the attitude and work ethic of the players, but also members of management.
“Our first training block was about assessment and fundamentals. Next, we need to progress to playing actual matches and that is why this mini-tour will be very important. We’d like to thank all the teams that will be hosting us.
“Both the Lions and Sharks will field senior teams and they will properly test our systems. It’s important for us to understand where we are and to see how the boys respond to the challenge. We are also trying to replicate a similar timeline what we can expect during the World Rugby U20 Championship.”
Photo: Twitter/@URCOfficial_RSA