SA u18’s gunning for France and England encounters on home soil
CAPE TOWN- “To be clinical, error-free, and pounce on every opportunity” will be the order of the day when the South African u18 team face France in their opening clash of the u18 International series at Stellenberg High School on Tuesday.
Catch all the action from the u18 International Series live on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com). Broadcast brought to you by Investec.
South Africa, who are hosting the series in three different locations this year will be faced with the mounting task of reclaiming the title they won in last year’s edition at Paarl Gimnasium.
The stakes are however higher this year, with a number of players in the team looking to make an impression and have their names pencilled down for a place in next year’s U20 squad for the World Rugby Championship to be hosted in South Africa again.
The youngsters, however, will first need to focus on implementing the strategies and orders coming from the hierarchy in head coach Katleho Lynch and his assistant James Winstanley.
The duo of Lynch and Winstanley were both in charge of the team last year, and have selected a rather settled team filled with promising talent that lit up the scene at this year’s Craven week in George, and during the schoolboy season.
On top of that, Lynch and Co have managed to squeeze in their 26-player squad five members of the SA ‘A’ team that went down to the U18 side (36-26) in a warm-up match in July.
Despite the lack of preparation as a squad with players returning to their respective schools after that clash, Lynch believes the boys will be ready to hit the ground running.
“I am feeling very excited for the series. We have a good group which I think will be competitive,” Lynch told SuperSport Schools.
“We also have continuity in the coaching department which does help when it comes to sending our coaching messages across.”
“The biggest thing with the U18 series is that you get limited time to prepare. So, it is key to simplify a lot of what you are coaching,” added the coach.
This year’s campaign of the Craven Week produced some aperitive results which essentially made it more difficult to predict which players would have their names etched into the national team books.
Eventual winners, Western Province who defeated the Blue Bulls (29-5) in the unofficial final boasts seven players in the squad.
The rest of the team is spread across Free State, Golden Lions, The Sharks, and Eastern Province. With the huge pool of players to pick from, Lynch admitted that there were some selection headaches ahead of the series.
“Selection is always a tough one in South Africa,” said the St John man.
“We know that schoolboy rugby is highly competitive and that there is a plethora of talent at hand in all Provinces.”
“I think we are in a good space where there are at least more than three good options in a position.”
“The match against the SA ‘A’ team was a very valuable exercise. It gave the guys some game time, and also for us as coaches to test the players against each other.”
The two clashes against the English and France will also expose some of the players to International rugby for the first time in their careers.
South Africa dominated the series last year, defeating England twice, (40-24) and (44-41) before thumping France (49-17) in Paarl.
The challenge for the players will be to handle the pressure and intensity that comes with facing teams they know close to nothing about.
Compared to schoolboy rugby, the margin of error will be minimal, and players will need to produce full 80-minute performances in every match.
“In International rugby the margins are much smaller. So, you have to be clinical and take opportunities when they come,” Lynch said.
“The higher you go the higher the pressure, so we are also testing players that can execute at the highest level under immense pressure.”
“The objective is to make sure that we are giving u18 players a taste of international rugby.”
“We need to make sure that the players are getting filtered into the U20 system and they know what is expected when they get to that level.”
When asked what he thought the two oppositions would bring to the series, the coach had the following to say:
“I think both will bring different aspects as they both have different strengths.”
“They have a lot of good game breakers and trusted DNA. I think it will be a highly competitive series between all the teams.”
South Africa will kick off their campaign on Tuesday, 15 August against France at Stellenberg High School in Durbanville at 15:00.
The teams:
South Africa u18 squad:
Backs: JC Mars (Western Province), Luyanda Kunene (Sharks), Gino Cupido (Western Province), Janco Purchase (Blue Bulls), Jameel de Jongh (Western Province), Ian van der Merwe (Free State), Haashim Pead (Western Province), Dominic Malgas (Eastern Province), Scott Nel (Western Province), Cheswill Jooste (Golden Lions), Christiaan van der Westhuizen (Free State).
Forwards: JJ Theron (Free State), Batho Hlekani (Eastern Province), Divan Fuller (Western Province), Ulrich van der Westhuizen (Golden Lions), Jacobus Grobbelaar (Free State), Simphiwe Ngobese (Sharks), Siphosethu Mnebelele (Golden Lions), Phiwayinkosi Kubeka (Sharks), Imaani Pemba (Eastern Province), Ranon Fouche (Free State), Jean Erasmus (Free State), Thando Biyela (Golden Lions), Xola Nyali (Western Province), Lithemba Mfupi (Sharks), Marno Stopforth (Free State).
France u18 squad:
Thomas Alary (Stade Toulousain), Quentin Algay (CA Brive Corrèze), Temanatua Boichot (Stade Rochelais), Liam Couturier (ABCD XV), Adrien Drault (CABBG), Eliott Duthil (US Colomiers), Tom Emery (US Colomiers), Gabin Garault (Stade Rochelais), Ellyjah Ibsaiene (CABBG), Edouard-Junior Jabea Njocke (RC Massy Essonne), Samuel Jean Christophe (RC Toulon), Diego Jurd (Stade Rochelais), Luka Keletaona (CA Brive Corrèze), Dany Kevin Lamataki (SU Agen), Tom Leveque (Aviron Bayonnais), Nathan Llaveria (Stade Toulousain), Thomas Marceline (Lyon OU), Romeo Martin Bonnard (Stade Toulousain), Marceau Marzullo (Stade Toulousain), Charly Mignot (Lyon OU), Jérémy Nemor (Stade Toulousain), Pierre Cren Ourtaud (Castres Olympique), Ruben-Diego Pargade (CABBG), Bastien Rasal (Aviron Bayonnais), Melvyn Rates (FC Grenoble), Noé Theraube (FC Grenoble), Ethan Tia (Stade Français), Quentin Valentino (Stade Niçois), Luka Keletaona (CA Brive Corrèze), Dany Kevin Lamataki (SU Agen).
u18 International Series fixtures:
Friday, 11 August
Venue: Boland Landbou (Paarl)
15h00: England U18 vs France U18
Tuesday, 15 August
Venue: Stellenberg High School (Durbanville)
13h00: England U18 vs WP U18 XV
15h00: SA U18 vs France U18
Saturday, 19 August
Venue: Paarl Boys High School (Paarl)
13h00: France U18 vs WP U18 XV
15h00: SA U18 vs England U18
