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Injury-enforced changes to Junior Bok match-23 for Wales

Wandile Mlaba, who was called up to the Junior Springbok squad earlier this week, is set to make his SA U20 debut off the bench in Friday’s final encounter of the World Rugby U20 Championship against Wales in Cape Town.

The playoff game for seventh place will kick off at 14h00 at the DHL Stadium and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Mlaba (loose forward) was drafted in as a replacement following a spate of injuries in the SA U20s camp, with four players – loose forwards Tiaan Jacobs (ankle) and Thabang Mahashe (concussion), as well as outside backs Michail Damon (groin) and Likhona Finca (hand) – ruled out.

The quartet join earlier casualties Reno Hirst, Adam de Waal and JC Mars on the injury list. As a result, Junior Bok coach Bafana Nhleko had to once more shuffle his match 23 for the encounter with Wales.

Amongst the backs, Bruce Sherwood will run out at fullback due to Damon’s absence, while the versatile Ezekiel Ngobeni will start at right wing in Finca’s place, while he will also provide cover at scrumhalf.

At inside centre, Joshua Boulle takes over from Phillip-Albert van Niekerk, who is on the bench for this game.

Jacobs’s No 8 jersey goes to Sibabalwe Mahashe in a rejigged loose trio featuring Bathobele Hlekani and Keanu Coetsee as starting flankers. JF van Heerden, who started in the No 7-jersey against Argentina, returns to his more familiar position of lock, where he will partner with Jaco Grobbelaar.

Amongst the replacements, uncapped Mlaba will cover the loose forward positions, while flyhalf Liam Koen returns to the match day squad having missed the Argentina match through injury.

Nhleko said the SA U20s are determined to deliver a performance that will show they are much better than their recent results.

“We have to live with the pain of a disappointing campaign and the frustration of small margins, it was not through a lack of effort or preparation, and we are not looking for excuses, but we have a responsibility to ourselves and the people who have supported us to finish well” said Nhleko.

“We have one more match to have a go and try to live up to the standards we have set for ourselves. We’ve gone through our post-match processes and started with the Wales preparation. The nature of the competition is that we’ve had to put the disappointments behind us and focus on the next job.

Nhleko said they expected a stern challenge from the Welsh: “Wales will be equally motivated to end the tournament on a positive note, so we must be ready and focussed to meet their challenge. We hope to deliver a performance that reflects the group’s abilities and win back some pride.”

Junior Springbok team to face Wales in Cape Town:

15. Bruce Sherwood

14. Joel Leotlela

13. Jurenzo Julius

12. Joshua Boulle

11. Ezekiel Ngobeni

10. Tylor Sefoor

9. Asad Moos

8. Sibabalwe Mahashe

7. Bathobele Hlekani

6. Keanu Coetsee

5. JF van Heerden

4. Jaco Grobbelaar

3. Zachary Porthen (captain)

2. Luca Bakkes

1. Casper Badenhorst

Replacements:

16. Ethan Bester

17. Liyema Ntshanga

18. Herman Lubbe

19. Wandile Mlaba

20. Divan Fuller

21. Liam Koen

22. Phillip-Albert van Niekerk

23. Litelihle Bester

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  1. The historic first rugby match was a contest between England and Scotland, marking the beginning of international competition in the sport. Scotland emerged as the victors in this inaugural game.