South African U20 JWC squad announced.

This courtesy of SA rugby.

Vodacom Blue Bulls flank Wian Liebenberg will lead a powerful SA Under-20 team at the IRB Junior World Championship 2012 in Cape Town, the South African Rugby Union announced on Tuesday.

SARU named the 28-man squad during a midday media conference held at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport.

Vodacom Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen, DHL Stormers prop Steven Kitshoff, MTN Lions lock Paul Willemse, Pieter-Steph du Toit (lock) and Paul Jordaan (centre, both The Sharks) are the five squad members who have all played in the demanding 2012 Vodacom Super Rugby competition.

The trio of Jordaan, William Small-Smith (centre) and Tshotsho Mbovane (wing) also boast international experience, having represented the Springbok Sevens in the HSBC Sevens World Series.

Several squad members also played Varsity Cup and Vodacom Cup rugby, while Marvin Orie led the Tuks Under-20 team to success in the Varsity Cup Young Guns competition.

Flyhalf Tony Jantjies is the younger brother of Elton, the Springbok pivot. Last week the younger Jantjies helped the SA U20 training squad to 2-0 series win over Argentina.

Dawie Theron, the SA U20 coach, said he was pleased with the squad and confident that the group of promising players will be able to stand up to the challenge of their formidable opponents.

“This is the best available group of players and I am delighted with the composition of the group. We are mindful of the fact that we did not perform to our potential last year, so that, and the fact that we are playing at home will obviously add to the pressure. The JWC is the pinnacle of a young player’s career and they will be determined to give it their best effort in front of our home fans,” added Theron.

The squad assembles on 24 May in Cape Town for a holding camp.

The SA U20 JWC group fixtures are as follow:
Mon 4 June SA vs. Ireland (Danie Craven Stadium, 19h00)
Friday 8 June SA vs. Italy (UWC Stadium, 19h00)
Tue 12 June SA vs. England (Danie Craven Stadium, 19h00)

The full South Africa Under-20 squad for the Junior World Championship:


Leyds Dillyn Fullback Western Province
Schmidt Marais Fullback Golden Lions
Ismaiel Travis Wing Blue Bulls
Jordaan Paul Wing Kwazulu-Natal
Mbovane Tshotsho Wing Western Province
Hammond Dean Wing Western Province
Howard Pat Centre Western Province
Serfontein Jan Centre Blue Bulls
Small-Smith William Centre Blue Bulls
Goosen Johan Flyhalf Free State
Jantjies Tony Flyhalf Blue Bulls
Griesel Abrie Scrumhalf Blue Bulls
Luiters Kevin Scrumhalf Free State
Adendorff Shaun Flank Blue Bulls
Booysen Fabian Flank Golden Lions
Majola Khaya Flank KwaZulu-Natal
Liebenberg (captain) Wian Flank Blue Bulls
Steyn Braam Flank KwaZulu-Natal
Du Toit Pieter-Steph Lock KwaZulu-Natal
Orie Marvin Lock Blue Bulls
Botha Ruan Lock Golden Lions
Willemse Paul Lock Golden Lions
Dell Allan Prop KwaZulu-Natal
Kebble Oliver Prop Western Province
Kitshoff Steven Prop Western Province
Van Dyk Nicolaas Prop KwaZulu-Natal
Pretorius Mark Hooker Golden Lions
Thomas Jason Hooker Blue Bulls

strong squad... if they can compete with ENG up front I think they would fancy their chances, esp. if Goosen plays.

ENG rave about Ford but Goosen is miles ahead in terms of development at the moment.

My concern is who will be picked, Jantjies or Goosen.

I know who is better, but then that doesn't matter does it?

Yes I'd forgotten this was coming to SA at this time. This should be a good one.
Massive pressure on our guys to remain undefeated. A lot to heap on young shoulders...

sorry this question is probably stupid but will involvement in this definately rule out involvement in the senior squad?

assuming it will it will probably be the best option for goosen, who has been discussed and we concluded it was too soon for the senior squad. however im slightly suprised Kitshoff isnt somewhere in the proper squad. he has impressed me when i have seen him and the Boks arent stacked with world class looseheads. especially if steenkamp is discounted.

i have never seen the baby boks play before can we expect a similar style to the full team? fa0119 mentioned competeing with us up front should we expect our english pack to be stronger? a rare occurance in senior rugby thats for sure!

mattraven

From past experience the bok U20 pack have been far inferior in terms of size to ENG.
ENG U20 have always packed large teams... albeit not even close to the size of the ABs U20 side... those guys would give most senior sides a run for their money.

Pre the professional era the boks were famed for their size given that most of the players came from a farming background.... they were just naturally bigger then others.

Now its a more level playing field and ENG have always put a strong emphasis on the gym from a young age.

In terms of Kitsoff I wouldn't test him yet... perhaps bring him along to the AIs tour to get some midweek games against big club sides.... scrums are more contested in Europe then they are in S15 rugby IMO.

SA want to get to the final in this JRWC so they will have to bring their best... and players like Kitsoff and Goosen fits that bill.

This is what Jake White said of Goosen in a recent SA interview.

“For me the rising star is Johan Goosen. For so long now people have asked why South Africa can’t produce world class No 10s. Now there’s Goosen ... and that’s taking nothing away from Naas Botha, who’s a legend, Henry Honiball or Butch James. Or Morné Steyn. But for Goosen to be doing what he is doing, at such a young age is incredible.

“If he was a Kiwi kid we’d all be asking, ‘where do they get these guys?’

“If I was Heyneke I’d get him involved with the Boks as soon as possible. Every other nation would pick him. I’m not saying get rid of Steyn, I’m saying Springbok rugby must groom Goosen. He’s as good as Jonny Wilkinson was at 18 and he can reach the same heights Wilkinson has.”

Shame for a player like Lambie & Jantjies but it seems like its not just the fans who think Goosen is destined to take hold of the 10 jersey well into the future. When JW talks of grooming Goosen I'm sure he means playing him at 12 or 15.

JW himself first groomed Frans Steyn as a wing on the 06 AI tour.

Lambie is good and will feature well into the future but for me I have to agree with JW on this one... Goosen is probably the player the boks will mould their team around for the next 10 years just like ENG built their side around JW and NZ have done so with Carter.

Exciting times for bok fans thats for sure.

Beware of building a team around players. I think we have suffered from it to an extent, as it has certainly stunted Flood and prevented Hodgson from having a proper punt at the jersey. NZ's problems finding a back up FH are even more well known, many have tried and none impressed yet. Evans ran away, Slade has a glass jaw and Cruden is very young

Bathite

True and given ENG suffered when JW was injured for all those years you have a point.
However in terms of Evans... he went as much for the green as he did because Carter was in the spot he wanted and realistically he didn't want to play second fiddle.

Flood may have been stunted by JW holding the 10 jersey for a long time but he also played outside JW for much of his early career which would have also helped him.. so I think it worked both ways.

Hodgson also had it all but was never going to make it as he is so mentally weak. He had years from 04-07 to build his claim for the 10 jersey yet always failed to grasp the moment and could never be relied upon... hence why lancaster gave Farrell the kicking duties on his debut compared to a usually flawless Hodgson (at least in domestic rugby).

Much of rugby is serious tests, there is a fine line between rotating your best and losing.... just ask GH and their 07 nightmare.

fa0019

im suprised that the bok forwards have been consistantly smaller than englands at u20 level i must say. How then do the boks discover a senior pack that has been bigger or as big as englands for as long as i can remember? which admittedly isnt long?

is there a reason for this? do young players in SA start weights training later than we do over here?

Weight training certainly isn't as big as it is in the UK IMO, the amount of standard gym supplements available are far lower.

It is always a strange one though... ENG have always been fighting it out with NZ as the best age grade nation .. miles ahead of everyone else both in skills and size yet come the seniors other teams have caught up.

Last year Goosen was Ford's opposite number in their pool match for instance. Ford went on to win U20 world player of the year and player of the tournament I think and since then he has played a few games at bestfrom what I've seen.... Goosen who was well in his shadow looks to have raced ahead of him and seems to be the most exciting young flyhalf world rugby has seen since Quade Cooper (albeit different types of players).

might perhaps point to rugby here in england needing to be less about weight and size and more focused towards skills and the power side of physicality. My view is that you can have a slow pack that can just roll over teams and win some matches, but its very hard to beat the boks or all blacks that way because they can front up to that. Then we get slow ball, have people like banahan in the centre and the result is all too depressing.

although the conditions up here do make the game slower, its hard to see the likes of easter, deacon, jim hamilton, wouldnt have got near the bok team. good players, but i just dont see it. The equivilent would be botha, a superb player and one of my favorites who did all the heavy stuff AND got round the park really really well and had great effect in defence.

hopefully the likes of Garvey, Lawes, Marler, Morgan and Haskell over the next few years can fight it out pound for pound with you guys while playing at a furious pace.

on ford and goosen, ford has played this season, but mostly in the lv cup i believe, and this possibly highlights the importance of weight and defence in the Aviva Premiership. However i think that Goosen is almost a stone heavier so can probably cope better, and it shouldnt be forgotten that Ford is at Leicester so is competing with Flood and Twelvtrees. If he had been at, say, Sale or Worcester or even Exeter i think he would have played in far more premiership games, and would be laying a serious claim to the starting jersey next season.

Ford vs Goosen, the battle started at u20 level and may be repeated many times yet!

As far as back up to carter is concerned I dont think we have anything to worry about. With Cruden, barrett, anscombe, tom taylor and a couple of others I think we have the position more than covered in fact probably more than anyome else. I dont feel NZ ever built their game around DC. For one thing hes spent a lot of time off the field and his strength was he was himself a master of trades, king of none.

There are better kickers, tacklers, runners, playmakers than DC but none do them all. All round he stands out, and that complements the NZ game, it doesnt make it.

Goosen has impressed me all year and now people are taking him more seriously as a Bok 10 prospect. Trouble is SA are notoriously conservative and cling to past ideals too rigidly. How long has du plessis taken to seal his spot? And that only comes with smits well overdue retirement.

Formula is simple for meyer. If you want to look back pick steyn or grant. If you want to look forward pick lambie or goosen...and dont mix it up by retaining a security blanket...grow some...

i would say DC was and possibly is that master of many trades, king of all

mattraven wrote:i would say DC was and possibly is that master of many trades, king of all

So hes the best goalkicker (Steyn), running 10 (Cooper), tackling 10 (Wilko)?

Fair enough then...

sorry dont even remember posting that

think what i was trying to say is that for me Carter is the best because i think that he can do all of those things to the highest level. my view is that he could be a master of running, for example, without necessarily being the best in the world. For me Carter's goalkicking is/was up there with the best, cosidering how many kicks he takes, his running is/was up there because i have seen him glide through and set up scores or score himself on numerous occasions, his tackling is superb its rare for NZ to give much away in the 10 channel and he also cover tackles very well. The thing that really sets him apart for me is his decision making, he is the best i have ever seen at knowing WHEN to run, pass or kick. For me this is just as important if not more so than being the absolute best in the world at any of these skills.

the other you mentioned (steyn, Cooper, Wilko) all have serious flaws that stem from decision making. eg. Steyn kicks too much

Taylorman

I think you're being a tad unfair on your countryman.... I wouldn't say he is far off either the 3 mentioned in terms of kicking, running and tackling. Certainly the best all round 10 in the game anyhow but I'm sure thats what you were suggesting.

As per your comments on Meyer... I would be a little cautious in throwing Goosen in at the deep end too early. He is only 19 remember and up until this season has played little rugby outside of age grade... packs get instantly 50kg heavier in test rugby and every opposition forwards charging down your throat will be all world class rather than the odd 2 or 3 in S15.

I rate him very highly and think he has the potential to hold the jersey for the well past the next world cup but its too much responsibility to put on him immediately. Throw him in at 12 or 15. Give him some mid week experience etc. Lambie is much more settled however and in the interim may be a better alternative as a starting 10.

SA do seem to suffer from having no real 2nd side, no where to blood up & coming players to build their exposure. Certainly when SA tour Europe it will be good for him to play midweek bok rugby and perhaps get some bench duty for the tests.

The John Smit saga was a real unfortunate period for the boks. SA had a coach who was not his own man, did not have his own ideas etc. He didn’t have the balls of let’s say Henry who arguably got rid of his Captain in Umaga a tad early to benefit the side in the long run.
I also think PDV relied on Smit & Matfield heavily to deal with the players and therefore they became immune to any rival player for the test jersey… no matter if the player fighting them was/is the best player in the world in their position.

Meyer is no mug though, he will do whats best for the team and the boks and is a good coach. He may not be everyone’s cup of tea but he gets results and in rugby that’s all that counts. From a fans perspective we all want to see entertaining rugby but home fans will not sacrifice victory for the odd try fest… just don’t expect Meyer to develop an all singing & dancing 5 tries a game side.. well unless they play the Welsh

Yes agree completely fa. With the smit matfield pdv thing you've hit it right on the head I think. As long as its realised that all 3 were therefore looking after their own interests to the overall detriment of the teams success. Though Matfield I wouldnt quite put in the same category. He was class throughout and the premier lock in world rugby up until his last test.

Agree with goosen and didnt mean to just throw him in. I think Goosen should perhaps play of the bench against England but the main thing is meyer had got to deal with the steyn thing first. Steyn has been picked again and again as a go to man to kick the goals. His overall presence is hurting the development of bok rugby as a true power in genuine 15 a side rugby. SA win most of their matches as it is with limited back play.

Theres a disconnect between the riches of the sxv talent and the next level and in both 2010 and 2011 the level actually went down when moving into bok phase.

Meyer looks the part but something tells me he could adopt a conservative approach for a slightly longer period than he should.

England and SA have by far the greatest potential for improvement purely because they neglect their wealth of resources for the conservative approach. Interesting that they meet in a 3 test series.

Must say Biltong you must be busy as I've sent enough chewy bites your way to chomp on...hope everything's ok...

Sorry Taylorman, I hve been away for a week travelling the Natal Midlands etc.

The thing SARU has to take under consideration is to decide which game plan they want to play and how they want our game to evolve considering the new age laws etc.

What has been interesting in this Super XV so far, is that it seems NZ and OZ teams kick more than last year.

There still is a necessity at times where it is better for you that the opposition has the ball and you defend.

However apart from our usual strengths we do need to add value to the talent we have coming through and it is really only on attack where you can allow these guys the freedom to express themselves.

As of the recent year or two we have seen in the Super XV that these guys can make a big difference, Lambie and Goosen in specific is ten times more likely to break the line than Morne Steyn.

Frans Steyn is much more likely to not only break the line but use his advantage by getting an offload to a player in space.

Our back lines are starting to run better supporting lines and the player who gets through the line does find he is not isolated as much as only a few years ago.

So we'll have to see what happens.