SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said on Friday that while the cancellation of the World Rugby U20 Championship and the Junior Springboks’ warm-up matches was disappointing, these steps were necessary to assist in countering the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
World Rugby – following consultation with Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) – announced on Friday that the World Rugby U20 Championship, which was set to be hosted in Verona, Viadana, Calvisano and Parma from Sunday 28 June to Saturday 18 July, was called off with the wellbeing of the global rugby family at heart.
 
This followed an announcement by SA Rugby last week that an international series featuring the national Under-20 teams of Georgia and Argentina as well as the Junior Boks, which was set to take place in South Africa in April, has been cancelled as well as a planned tour by the team to the United Kingdom in May. 
 
“It is obviously very disappointing for Chean Roux, his players and the team management, but these drastic steps are vital to ensure the safety of the players, team management and match officials,” said Roux.
 
“Desperate times call for desperate measures, and as world citizens it is important that we all take the necessary measures to try to contain this pandemic.
 
“I would like to thank the players, coaches and management for all their hard work in the last few months, and encourage them to keep on putting in the hard yards albeit outside of a team set-up given the current need for social distancing.”
 
Roux added: “We will continue to monitor the situation and start planning possible scenarios with the Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus and his department regarding the way forward for the Junior Springboks and the Under-19 High Performance squad for the rest of the season.”
 
Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux said: “Yes, we are disappointed but everyone understands the situation and we’ll do whatever is needed to play our part in curbing this pandemic. Working with the players over the last few months, I’ve realised yet again what immense talent we have at our disposal at junior level, and I believe that many of these players have bright futures ahead.”
 
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
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Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux named a fresh mix of players for the fourth and final SA Rugby U20 alignment camp in Stellenbosch next week, with nine players set to make their first appearances at the camp.
 
The new players in the group of 22 are Diego Appollis, Christie Grobbelaar, Dawid Kellerman, Boitumelo Tsatsane, Brendan Venter (all centres), Cohen Jasper, Richard Kriel, Zeilinga Strydom and Siba Xamlashe (all fullbacks).
 
Former SA Schools captain Muzi Manyike (centre) was invited to the camp, but had to withdraw due to injury, which made way for Bernard van der Linde (scrumhalf) to make a return.
 
Four of the nine players were members of the SA U19 team that won back-to-back Internationals against Georgia in Tbilisi late last year, taking the total number of players in the group on the tour to 15.
 
Roux looked forward to working with the new group of players and said: “We are excited to welcome these players to the alignment camps and we believe their presence will add even more enthusiasm and energy to the group, as this is their first time with us.
 
“The objective of these camps was to assess the talent on offer with an eye on the SA Rugby Academy programme and the Junior Springbok squad in the next few months, and by casting our net wide over the four weeks of alignment camps, we have achieved that.
 
“Over the last three weeks we have been able to familiarise ourselves with the players on and off the field, and we have made good strides in exposing the players to our structures and the standards we expect, and next week will be no different.” 
 
Fourth SA Rugby U20 alignment camp squad:
Adriaan Alberts (Xerox Golden Lions; lock)
Diego Appollis (Vodacom Blue Bulls; centre)
Christie Grobbelaar (SA Rugby Sevens Academy; centre)
Celimpilo Gumede (Cell C Sharks; flanker)
Hanro Jacobs (Cell C Sharks; prop)
Stravino Jacobs (Vodacom Blue Bulls; winger)
Cohen Jasper (Toyota Free State; fullback)
Dawid Kellerman (Vodacom Blue Bulls; centre)
JJ Kotze (DHL Western Province; hooker)
Richard Kriel (Vodacom Blue Bulls; fullback)
Thabiso Mdletshe (Cell C Sharks; prop)
Zwelendaba Mnombo (DHL Western Province; centre)
Lunga Ncube (Cell C Sharks; lock)
Evan Roos (Cell C Sharks; No 8)
Sibusiso Sangweni (Xerox Golden Lions; looseforward)
Zeilinga Strydom (Vodacom Blue Bulls; fullback)
Boitumelo Tsatsane (Xerox Golden Lions; centre)
Bernard van der Linde (Vodacom Blue Bulls; scrumhalf)
Cullen van der Merwe (Cell C Sharks; hooker)
Emile van Heerden (Cell C Sharks; lock)
Brendan Venter (DHL Western Province; centre)
Siba Xamlashe (DHL Western Province; fullback)
 
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
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Four players will make their first appearance at the third SA Rugby Under-20 alignment camp in Stellenbosch this week after being invited by Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux as the planning phase continues for the SA Rugby Academy and SA U20 season in the next few months.
 
Thabo Ndimande (looseforward), JJ Kotze (hooker), Keenan Opperman (looseforward) and Simon Miller (utility forward) will feature in the camps for the first time in a group of 18 players.
 
Ndimande and Kotze, in particular, are familiar with a number of the squad members, as they played alongside some of them in the SA Under-19 team on their two-match tour to Georgia late last year.
 
Of the 18 players, 12 attended the two opening camps, and another two players – 2019 Junior Springbok player of the year Jaden Hendrikse (scrumhalf), and Rynhardt Jonker (centre) – attended the second camp last week.
 
“The alignment camps have been valuable in allowing us to work with the players and to guide them in terms of our standards and expectations with an eye on the talent identification process for the SA Rugby Academy programme and the Junior Springbok squad,” said Roux.
 
“The players who have attended the last two camps are grasping the structures well, so we are pleased with the progress we are making.
 
“This week we welcome JJ, Keenan, Simon, Thabo and I am sure they will slot in with ease since they have either played with or against most of the players in this group at some stage.”
 
The fourth and last alignment camp will follow from 24 to 27 February, while the SA Rugby Academy will run from Thursday, 12 March, to mid-May.    
 
Third SA Rugby U20 alignment camp squad:
Adriaan Alberts (Xerox Golden Lions; lock)
Dewald Donald (Vodacom Blue Bulls; prop)
Sphekahle Dube (Cell C Sharks; prop)
Morne Brandon (Xerox Golden Lions; flanker)
Celimpilo Gumede (Cell C Sharks; flanker)
Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks; scrumhalf)
Hanro Jacobs (Cell C Sharks; prop)
JJ Kotze (DHL Western Province; hooker)
Rynhardt Jonker (Cell C Sharks; centre)
Keanan Opperman (Vodacom Blue Bulls; looseforward)
Thabiso Mdletshe (Cell C Sharks; prop)
Simon Miller (Vodacom Blue Bulls; utility forward)
Lunga Ncube (Cell C Sharks; lock)
Thabo Ndimande (Xerox Golden Lions; flanker)
Evan Roos (Cell C Sharks; No 8)
Sibusiso Sangweni (Xerox Golden Lions; looseforward)
Cullen van der Merwe (Cell C Sharks; hooker)
Emile van Heerden (Cell C Sharks; lock)
 
Issued by SA Rugby Communication

Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux named a group of 20 players featuring strong international flavor for the second SA Rugby alignment camp in Stellenbosch this week, with 16 players in the group having represented South Africa at age-group level.
 
Five players – Celimpilo Gumede (looseforward) Jaden Hendrikse (scrumhalf), Thabiso Mdletshe (prop), Sibusiso Sangweni (looseforward) and Emile van Heerden (lock) – participated in the 2019 World Rugby U20 Championship in Argentina, while they also travelled to Georgia in December last year with another 11 members of the squad as part of the SA U19 team.
 
The alignment camp is the second of four scheduled camps to be hosted at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, and will run from Monday 10 to Thursday 13 February.
 
The week will be particularly memorable for the Hendrikse brothers, Jordan (DHL Western Province scrumhalf) and Jaden Hendrikse – the SA Under-20 Player of the Year in 2019 – who will have the opportunity to train together.
 
Ten of the 20 players attended in the first camp, while Jordan Hendrikse, Thomas Bursey (scrumhalf), and Juan Mostert (flyhalf) participated in selected training sessions at that camp.
 
The other seven players – Jaden Hendrikse, Lionel April, Bernard van der Linde, and Ross Braude (scrumhalves), Stravino Jacobs (winger), Rynhardt Jonker (utility back), and Ethan Wentzel (flyhalf) – make their first appearances at the camp.
 
Roux was satisfied that they had achieved their objectives at the first alignment camp and he looked forward to welcoming a few new players for their second camp.
 
“The main purpose of the alignment camps is to give us an idea of the talent available with an eye on the season ahead, as the SA Rugby Academy programme and the Junior Springboks play a vital role in developing and grooming the top age-group players in the country for first class rugby,” said Roux. 
 
“It was good to see the players at the first camp in action and get to know them, and we intend building on the progress made at this camp. We are also excited to see what the players have to offer.
 
“Fortunately, most of the players in this squad have come through SA Rugby’s junior structures, so they know what is expected of them.” 
 
Players invited to second SA Rugby alignment camp (in alphabetical order):
Adriaan Alberts (Xerox Golden Lions; lock)
Lionel April (Vodacom Blue Bulls; flyhalf)
Morne Brandon (Xerox Golden Lions; flanker)
Ross Braude (Vodacom Blue Bulls; scrumhalf)
Thomas Bursey (DHL Western Province; scrumhalf)
Celimpilo Gumede (Cell C Sharks; flanker)
Jaden Hendrikse (Cell C Sharks; scrumhalf)
Jordan Hendrikse (DHL Western Province; flyhalf)
Hanro Jacobs (Cell C Sharks; prop)
Stravino Jacobs (Vodacom Blue Bulls; winger)
Rynhardt Jonker (Cell C Sharks; utility)
Thabiso Mdletshe (Cell C Sharks; prop)
Juan Mostert (DHL Western Province; flyhalf)
Lunga Ncube (Cell C Sharks; lock)
Evan Roos (Cell C Sharks; No 8)
Sibusiso Sangweni (Xerox Golden Lions; looseforward)
Cullen van der Merwe (Cell C Sharks; hooker)
Bernard van der Linde (Vodacom Blue Bulls; scrumhalf)
Emile van Heerden (Cell C Sharks; lock)
Ethan Wentzel (Vodacom Blue Bulls; flyhalf)
 
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
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