Two groups of 23 players have been invited to attend Under-20 alignment camps in Stellenbosch and Pretoria in January to kickstart the preparations for the SA Rugby Academy and Junior Springbok season.
The first camp, which includes Vodacom Bulls, Toyota Cheetahs, Sharks, and DHL Western Province players, will be hosted at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport from Monday 15 to Friday 19 January.
The second camp will be hosted a week later at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria from Monday 22 to Friday 26 January, and will feature players from the Vodacom Bulls, Lions, Sharks and DHL Western Province.
Ten of the players have been included in both groups as the Junior Springbok coaches look to cast their net as wide as possible to identify the top U20 players in the country, while a bunch of 2023 Junior Springbok players have also been included in the squads.
The purpose of the camps is to prepare the players for the demands of Junior Springbok rugby and align their skills with the strategic objectives of the national team.
Players invited to the U20 Alignment Camps:
Stellenbosch camp: Liam Koen, Mbasa Maqubela, Ruan Swart, JF Van Heerden (all Vodacom Bulls), Tylor Sefoor (Toyota Cheetahs), Litelihle Bester, Thomas Dyer, Batho Hlekani, Jurenzo Julius, Sphephelo Mbonambi, Nicolas Snyman (all Sharks), Luca Bakkes, Josh Boulle, Grant De Jager, Adam De Waal, CJ Erasmus, Divan Fuller, Andre Goedhals, Joel Leotlela, JC Mars, Asad Moos, Ezekiel Ngubeni, Zachary Porthen (DHL Western Province).
Pretoria camp: Caleb Abrahams, Casper Badenhorst, Keanu Coetzee, Michail Damon, Jaco Grobbelaar, Alfondso Isaacs, Liam Koen, Mbasa Maqubela, Juan Smal, Ruan Swart, JJ Theron, JF van Heerden, PA van Niekerk (all Vodacom Bulls), Reno Hirst, Sibabalwe Mahashe, Thabang Mphafi, Haashim Pead, Thurlon Williams (all Lions), Litelihle Bester, Batho Hlekani, Jurenzo Julius (all Sharks), Luca Bakkes, Zachary Porthen (both DHL Western Province).
Racy Lion
Alec Stewart, OBE had a batting average of 39.54. This is the lowest for a player who has scored at least 8000 runs. Stewart holds a score of 8,463 Test runs. This figure is significant because Stewart was born on April 8, 1963 (8/4/63). He is also the cricketer with the highest Test runs who does not have a career double history.
Snow Cream
Rugby is also a very popular sport in South Africa and their national team, the Springboks, has performed particularly well in the international stage taking the 1995, 2007 and 2019 Rugby World Cups. There is also a fair amount of world-class Rugby players from South Africa that includes Bryan Habana, Danie Craven, Francois Pienaar, Frik du Preez, Joost van der Westhuizen, and Naas Botha. South Africa has also hosted quite a few international sports meetings like the 1996 African Cup of Nations, 2003 Cricket World Cup, as well as the 2007 World Twenty20 Championship.