The Junior Springboks will say “arrivederci” after tonight’s final whistle, when they take the field in their final outing at this year’s World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Cremona Italy.
The Junior Springboks will face France, after a disappointing semi-final result against England earlier in the week, in the bronze medal 3rd place play-off tonight.
Coach Dawie Theron has made a few changes upfront and one amongst the backs. Mzamo Majola, Jan van der Merwe, Jacques Vermeulen and Dan du Preez are the changes upfront, with backline player Malcolm Jaer the only other change in the starting XV.
“There is no hiding from the fact that the result against England was a huge disappointment. However, we will take that as a motivation to finish the tournament hopefully on a positive note with a win in our last match.
“Overall we had a good time together as a squad. We grew as a close knit unit during our extensive training camp in Stellenbosch, the Argentina tour right and the past three weeks here at the tournament in Italy. We have one match left to do our country proud and we are highly motivated to play France on Saturday,” explained captain, Hanro Liebenberg.
Kick-off is at 18:30, and the match will be televised live on SuperSport.
Junior Springboks:
15 Warrick Gelant 14 Malcolm Jaer 13 EW Viljoen 12 Daniel du Plessis 11 Leolin Zas 10 Brandon Thomson 9 Ivan van Zyl 8 Hanro Liebenberg 7 Dan du Preez 6 Jacques Vermeulen 5 RG Snyman 4 Jason Jenkins 3 Thomas du Toit 2 Jan van der Merwe1 Mzamo Majola
Reserves:
16 Joseph Dweba 17 Ox Nche 18 Frans van Wyk 19 Abongile Nonkontwana 20 Jean-Luc du Preez 21 Marco Jansen van Vuren 22 Tinus de Beer 23 Grant Hermanus

Is Mzamo Majola good? Never heard of him but it’s nice to see that both props are Sharks, good sign for the future.
@Seth101 (Comment 1) : He has two starts for the Sharks apparently. No idea how I missed that…
@Seth101 (Comment 2) : what? Maybe at Vodacom Cup level….
@robdylan (Comment 3) : Yea, Wikipedia doesn’t seem to differentiate between senior and vodacom cup. I thought that was a bit weird, or I had serious memory loss 😀
I don’t quite know where to post this…but the Highlanders are in the semis having beaten the Chiefs 24-14. So now it just remains to see whether the Stormers or the Brumbies will join them…
I didn’t watch the game…but I see on the Blitz channel that the Highlanders scored two beautiful tries…both to my fantasy league captain!
@pastorshark (Comment 6) : Naholo…
@pastorshark (Comment 6) : Best game of the year.
@The hound (Comment 8) : So you mean I missed a good one! I’ll have to watch the rerun!
Things are about to get underway at Newlands!
Lealiifano runs on first because it is his 100th game…
And here come the Stormers…
Schalk not playing…Rhodes in…
Pocock is fit and on the field…
Here we go…
From the kickoff the Stormers take it through plenty of phases before the box kick…
Mogg collects the box kick and makes a huge break…
He slips and after several phases the Stormers turn it over and Catrikilis clears…
Almost 3 minutes non-stop from the kickoff…good stuff…
Oh what a great try Brumbies…
White with a beautiful grubber and Tomane scores…
What a start for the Brumbies…
Lealiifano just pushes the conversion wide so 0-5 after 5 minutes…
Toomua got thumped in a tackle and is off for a concussion test…
The lineout is horribly overthrown by Ntubeni…SHOCKER! And the Brumbies got away with it…
Now the Stormers win a lineout but the box kick by groom is very poor!
The Stormers now get an effective maul going…then through several phases before the Brumbies win the breakdown penalty…
Brilliant Pocock…
Now the Brumbies have set up lineout on the Stormers 22. This time they overthrow and the Stormers attack well from their 22…
Great break Senatla…Stormers penalty…
Toomua is back…
Stormers with a better lineout in the 22…
Pocock almost steals it…
Brumbies intercept, but the Stormers get the penalty…
Easy shot for Catrikilis…he nails it and it is 3-5…
3-5 after 13 minutes…
Got kickoff take and exit by the Stormers…
Oh so simple!!
Tomane scores again!!
A kick onto Lleyds…he got thumped…Brumbies drove straight over it and won the turnover…and then great hands by the tight five to put Tomane away!
Lealiifano misses that conversion too and it is 3-10…
3-10 after 16 minutes…
The Brumbies deal much better with the up and under…
Kolbie does well to avoid Mogg and clear…
Vaiea has bounced Carr big time…knee to the chin in the tackle…
He may need a concussion test!
No…looks ok…
Scrum Stormers…
A very solid scrum by the Brumbies…
Stormers lineout in the Brumbies half…huge break by de Allende…
Stormers right on the line but can’t score…penalty Stormers…
Kick to the corner…
Brave move Stormers…
Pocock almost gets the steal again…and at the next breakdown Fardy wins the breakdown penalty…
Missed chance for the Stormers! Interesting move not to take the 3 points in a knock out game…
Poor knock Stormers…
Lleyds again…
Big scrum Stormers but Tomane scores!!!
Poor, poor defence Lleyds!!
3 mistakes by Lleyds have directly led to two tries…very poor!
Third time’s the charm for Lealiifano and that makes it 3-17…
3-17 after 27 minutes…
Useless kick by Kolbie…
Carr is now off…still groggy from that knee to the chin…
Good play de Allende, but the kick is just too far…
The Stormers need to get into this game…they are not in it at the moment…
Aaaand there is a break in transmission…
Kuridrani is off…
Almost good by the Stormers but Senatla kicks it too hard…
The Stormers are setting some chances up in the last 5 minutes…but the finishing is poor!
This time the Stormers get the breakdown penalty…
This time they take the shot…as they should have done earlier!
Catrikilis nails it…6-17…
6-17 after 33 minutes…
Good kickoff take and exit again by the Stormers…
Good maul Brumbies from halfway…
This tIme Lleyds catches the ball…
Officials miss a huge Brumbies forward pass…
Second time around Peyper spots the forward pass…
4 minutes to go to halftime…6-17…
Good scrum Stormers…and they win the penalty…
Scrum Stormers on the Brumbies 22…
The Brumbies steal the lineout…more poor play Stormers…
Senatla’s kick ahead does not get the bounce and so now it is a 22…
Nic White get’s a talking too…easy tiger…
Good play Stormers but then poor ball retention…
The Stormers lose another lineout ball…really poor stuff!
Now the Brumbies are right on the attack after the hooter…
And the Brumbies score right on half time!!
The Stormers have made SOOOOO many mistakes!!
6-24 at halftime…
The Brumbies are in total control at halftime…the Stormers will need a brilliant second half to come back into this…
Really scrambled defense. Is the new maul rule in effect yet?
In other news: Kevin Anderson has won through to the final Queen’s! Well done son…
@coolfusion (Comment 93) : Difficult to tell re: Maul…not really new rules, but sharpened policing on certain aspects. You couldn’t really tell whether it was something that Peyper looked at more closely…
They are missing Duane and schalk workrate on the breakdown.
@pastorshark (Comment 95) : So another rule where refs discretion can ruin games?
Stormers is in die [email protected] hier manne.. Another score by the Brumbies and its game over.
From what I saw in highlights brumbies are dominating the loose
And here we go again…
@coolfusion (Comment 99) : Absolutely…
Penalty Stormers at maul time…kicked out near the 22…
Ntubeni making a hash of line outs
Another lineout overthrown by a mile!!! Jeepers Coetzee must be regretting playing Mbonambi instead of Ntubeni…or was there an injury?
They’ve conceded points off missed lineouts and they’ve missed points off conceded lineouts…very poor!
Now the Brumbies have a lineout near the Stormers 22…intercept…Kolbie scores…
Kolbe!
A no look pass by Toomua and Kolbie is away…
The conversion is good and it is 13-24 after 45 minutes…
Mbonami my bad
That changes things a bit….
Much better Stormers…they earn a kickable penalty after a good counterattack from a turnover…
Who is their backup hooker?
Catrikilis will take the shot…
He nails it and it is 16-24…game on…
Stormers run it from their 22 and get turned over by Pocock…
That was stupid! They get back into the game…and then don’t exit properly!! Dumb…
Lealiifano nails the easy kick and makes it 16-27…
16-27 after 51 minutes…
Lealiifano with a poor kick and the Stormers have an attacking lineout…
Not that I want them to get him but Marcel or schalk would have made huge difference
Much better lineout…and a good maul…
The Stormers get a penalty…
This time they kick for the corner…they have to score here…
And they royally cock up another lineout…wow that has been sooooo poor all game!
Brumbies clear way downfield…
Now they win the lineout but knock it in the drive…wow!
Late tackle on Kolbie and the Stormers kick it into the 22…
They win one…maul…
Good maul…but stopped just short…
New maul rule says carrier must be in front so still old rules
Wow!! Pocock turns it over…the Stormers should have gone wide…
So many poor decision and mistakes by the South Africans…
Just a million lineouts lost by the Stormers!!
And another one!!! Surely Coetzee has to replace Mbonambi…he has been useless!!!!
@coolfusion (Comment 131) : No…the new maul directive says players aren’t allowed to join the maul in front of the ball carrier…
Scrum Stormers in the Brumbies half…
Huge scrum Stormers!! Penalty…
Someone in the pub just shouted curry cup kom huistoe. Would that be fabulous in robs words if they pulled that off in this game?
Ntubeni on now…
Catrikilis nails it…19-27 after 60 minutes…
Good take of the kickoff by Carizza…and good break by de Allende…
Poor ball retention again by the Stormers…
Brumbies right on the line…
TMO will check for the try…
Another try from a Stormers mistake…
The Brumbies were well offsides there and it was poor officiating…but the Stormers had taken that kick and had 6 players at the breakdown versus the Brumbies two…and the Stormers just managed that breakdown poorly and got turned over!!! Oh dear…
The conversion is good and it is 19-34…
19-34 after 64 minutes…
The Stormers win the first Ntubeni lineout…it was a poor decision by Coetzee to change the announced line-up it seems…
The Brumbies have bossed the breakdown big time and win another turnover!!
Tomane may have scored here…TMO to check!!
High tackle by Mogg? But another Lleyds stuff up!!
Wow…that could be a try…
Did Mogg play the ball at the breakdown? Yes…and high tackle…no try…
Close…that was almost Tomane’s 4th try…
Lleyds has had a shocker today!
Lealiifano carries the chip ahead into touch…lineout Stormers on the 22…
And another lineout lost…so crap!! Haha…
Kuridrani breaks through de Allende and then loses the ball…
Stormers are running out of time…they have to score three times to win this one…in 10 minutes…
Time running out
Now the Stormers will have a lineout 10m out…
They win a lineout…wow!
Sooooo slooooow…
Wow…theybare so slow it just doesn’t look as if they could ever score…
Finally a crap pass puts the Brumbies away…they are on the attack…
This one is over. Sorry stormers.
Surely that will be red…
@pastorshark (Comment 169) : Yup…red it is to Speight…
But it is surely too late now…only 6 minutes left and still 15 points…
That must surely be a penalty try…
He can card half the team now but time has run out.
Fardy gets a yellow…but surely that should have been a penalty try…they were waltzing over and the cynical foul stopped it…poor decision Peyper…
@coolfusion (Comment 173) : Yup…too late…
5m scrum Stormers…
@pastorshark (Comment 174) : Agree
Oh wow…the Brumbies get a tighthead…the Stormers have been woeful…just too many mistakes in both red zones…
Bad decision kolbe
And the Stormers now tossing it around 5m from their line…then they kick it…the white flag is waved…
Moog scores in the corner…13 against 15 score and the Brumbies have thumped the Stormers and they have absolutely deserved it!!
Painful. Skips kop skipskop pak jou goedjies op jou kop.
@pastorshark (Comment 181) : Definetely the comeback plan should have been the gameplan.
Final score 19-39…
@pastorshark (Comment 184) : Do you think coetzee was too cautious with his selections?
Lelike score daai.. None-the-less, 2/2 on SB
@coolfusion (Comment 183) : As much as the Brumbies deserve the win…the Stormers were truly, truly poor!!
Somehow resting your team the week before a playoff NEVER works…
@pastorshark (Comment 187) : Maybe the should not have be en so cocky last week and kept their continuity with the a string?
@coolfusion (Comment 185) : I think he will definitely regret swopping hookers from his announced lineup…I also think they missed Burger and Vermeulen…
@coolfusion (Comment 189) : The second string thing just never works…
@pastorshark (Comment 190) : Yup those two are game changers
The baby Boks are 7-8 down after 25 minutes…
Dan du Preez has looked good in the few minutes I’ve seen so far…
DHL Soft &%#@’s
Rugby is an awesome game. All can be lost in Ann instant. I defy any one to call this sport boring
Should have passed it son!!
The Baby Boks try was scored by Thomas the Tank…
@pastorshark (Comment 194) : Please comment ate they are turning off the TV here
Very, very well played Brumbies, well done.
So no SA side in the semis…poor tourney!
Baby Boks are killing them at scrum time and win another scrum penalty…
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 200) : Just wanted it more. Eh?
Pity this wasnt a Lions vs Brumbies game, I really doubt we would have seen that dross dished up.
Kick to the corner…lovely set move…great try!
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 204) : Yeah look…the Stormers were poor…break down poor…lineouts poor…poor under the high ball…poor defence…sheesh…
@coolfusion (Comment 203) : Stormers already “won” the game in the Cape Talk studios yesterday afternoon.
14-8 Baby Boks after 30 mins…
The French hoof the kickoff over the deadball line…
@pastorshark (Comment 206) : I just dont get it – this was at Newlands, Stormers arent that poor at home. Scored 1, conceded 6.
Much more enterprising stuff by the Baby Boks than in the semi…
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 207) : According to we can win anywhere coetzee they won this a week ago.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 210) : They were poor today! Couldn’t handle the pressure?
@coolfusion (Comment 212) :
Dan du Preez scores for the Baby Boks…he has looked very good!!!
Great strength by du Preez…
After being 0-8 down they are now 8-21 up…
Right…I have some work to do for tomorrow…see ya!
Wow PS this game sounds like it has some pace
Thanks for the updates have a good un
Umm…I’m back…second try for Dan du Preez…and that makes it 8-28 at halftime…
@coolfusion (Comment 220) : Thanks…in the last 20 minutes of the half the Baby Boks played very well…
And now I really am off…
Just an update on the u20 final…England got off to a cracking start with a brilliant try, but New Zealand have started to come back into it…it is now 10-8 to England after 28 minutes…
The Baby Boks won the 3rd place play-off by 31-18…
twins looked good, but itw deceiving, as the captain looked great for the bulls in sr this season but he hasnt killed it like i expected him to. The FH thomson from wp really impressed me. On the stormers note, so happy to have gotten both my superbru picks correct weekend
With 20 odd minutes to go, New Zealand lead England 21-16…
England kick it to the corner but get nowhere with the drive…
New Zealand have a scrum 5m from their line and clear…
England attack again…but knock it again…
England concede a free kick at scrum time…
Now New Zealand get a penalty and this could put them out of sight…
Indiscipline by the Baby Blacks sees the penalty turned over…
England have a penalty and will take a shot…
He misses it…
8 minutes left…still 5 points in it…
Time ticking away for England…
And New Zealand get a penalty and will take a shot…
This could be it…but it’s wide…
A wild pass gives New Zealand a scrum…and they can just wind down the clock…
England will have to go the length of the field here…
Another mistake by England…and with a minute to go that should be it…
Big scrum…but New Zealand retain possession…
New Zealand recycle it through several phases and then kick it out…close game…final score 21-16…
The first half was good…the second nervy and scrappy and not much to write home about…
Well done New Zealand…
Well done to the Brumbies. It was only deserved after they finished higher than the Stormers on the log but had to travel away thanks to a bizarre and ridiculous format.
How embarrassing for the Stormers though – have they ever won a play off game? I seem to recall they may even have made a final once so they must have, but I can remember more play off losses than wins.
@Feather (Comment 247) : Let’s be honest, they were only where they were because of the dumb conference system.
@Seth101 (Comment 248) : Unfortunately it is what it is. Would you have complained if we were in stormers shoes and had a shot because of the current setup? You work with the cards you are dealt. I would have like one sa side to get somewhere. I do however feel the officiating and sanzar “judiciary” system which is anything but fair or unbiased, is stacked against SA and effectively used to thin out the contending sa sides by its strange rulings. But that’s just my conspiracy theory.
@coolfusion (Comment 249) : Jeez bru a team that comes 7th makes the playoffs and you think there is a conspiracy bias against us.
Stormers had no right to be in a playoff,and once again when the chips were down they choked.
Alistar Coetzee looked like Yoda in the box and old Thelofo looked like Jabba the hut.
I did call this when they insulted us and sent their ”B team”,losing is a habit.
My province friend chainsaw must be wiping the yolk off his face.
Having said that I thought the earlier game was phenomenal,that is what Super rugby is supposed to be.
I so hope we can one day get back to playing this type of ruby.
@Feather (Comment 247) : That is because there have been comfortably more playoff losses than wins for them…
@The hound (Comment 250) : Have to agree, they had no right to be there and I don’t care at all that they lost. When I watch super rugby I don’t support SA rugby I support the Sharks, it’s our interest for SA teams to lose and so I couldn’t care less.
@The hound (Comment 250) : Not against us read the comments. I’m saying the sanzar judicial system is such that sa always gets hit hardest and where it counts. Like I said my theory is that they do try to thin us out every chance they get. Nothing to do with stormers or where they came.
Besides I agree they played awful and got what comes of that.
@Seth101 (Comment 252) : Couldn’t have put it better myself,well said.
@@coolfusion (Comment 253) : I tell you what I do find strange and almost sinister,when we play the Stormers at K.P we get a New Zealand ref ,but when the Stormers play an Australian team at Newlands they get a South African ref go figure.
@The hound (Comment 256) : Yes agree, that completely baffled me. Originally when I saw the NZ ref for the Sharks/Stormers match, I presumed since they knew the Stormers were hosting a playoff match, they had the NZ ref already in SA for the playoff and used him for the Sharks match. But nooooo I was wrong, and SANZAR seems not to worry about travel costs as they flew in these officials and chose not to use a neutral referee that was already in the country for the playoff. Sometimes I think that SANZAR gives zero consideration to the economics of the competition.
@The hound (Comment 256) : @Dancing Bear (Comment 257) : While I sympathise with your points, to be fair I hardly think it is sinister or at this stage about economics. We can argue about the policy – as I have repeatedly done – but I think this is just about them applying their policy. They treat all refs as neutral and make knock out appointments based on performance during the season. And Peyper and Pollock were two of the better refs in the competition. My bet is Joubert will get a semi…
Why would you guys think that a New Zealander would be a neutral judge in a contest between Australia and South Africa?
New Zealand is for all practical purposes an Autonomous Australian State.
Kiwis and Aussies share geography, language, mother country and culture. They have a shared defining National Moment (ANZAC) and often cannot even tell their own flags apart.
@fyndraai (Comment 259) : Whatever one says about the Sanzar policies, Peyper had a good game and certainly wasn’t biased in favour of the Stormers…
@The hound (Comment 256) : Well add to that Steyn harsh punishment at a point where we could have made a difference and built some consistency some really terrible decisions two games in a row. Little or zero punishment for similar infringements from nz and aus teams. Like I said my theory is when they do get the opportunity to disrupt sa teams and ensure less teams make it they make the most of it.
Of course it feeling like a conspiracy doesn’t make it so but it sure feels like it. Feels engineered and if an sa team is to make it they have to defeat other team utterly and work so much harder. Don’t know about you but even the teams who made playoffs weren’t that great. Seen much better in previous years.
@coolfusion (Comment 262) : The Highlanders and Hurricanes were good and deserve compliments. The Tahs weren’t that good…but then they play in the easiest conference and that helps…
@Seth101 (Comment 252) : Totally agreed . I was told that i must support the stormers this weekend . And i though to myself .. why ? If the stormers win its bad for the Lions . and if the stormers loose it makes no difference . so what if the Sharks play against the stormers in the final ? do i need to take out my measuring tape and figure out who is closer ? or google maps ?
@Seth101 (Comment 252) : @Zibbie (Comment 264) : Hmm…I don’t know. I mean, I’m not a Stormers fan and I have to confess that I enjoy them losing most of the time. But I don’t quite follow your logic. During the course of the regular season the current system clearly means you want the other teams in your conference to lose! It is one aspect of what makes this system so daft! But once the playoffs have arrived, there really isn’t a direct effect on us anymore. I also don’t want the Stormers to win Super Rugby before we do…but the basis for wanting them to lose is no longer what is good for my team. It’s simply that I don’t like the Stormers…
@pastorshark (Comment 265) : well . its because i was told to support the south african team . and i asked myself … why ?
@Zibbie (Comment 264) : Agree after the Sharks,I admire the Crusaders most years and this year the Hurricanes and the Highlanders.The Chiefs are fast entering the
special place I reserve for the Stormers and the Bulls.
@Zibbie (Comment 266) : Ja no…I get that big time…
@The hound (Comment 267) : I have really enjoyed the Highlanders!!!!
So I don’t know quite where to put this:
http://www.supersport.com/rugby/article.aspx?Id=3063524
Interesting news…my thoughts:
1. I’m not thrilled to have all our guys play in Japan until so close before the start of Super Rugby. When will they rest? Will they be able to prepare properly with our squad?
2. I do get, though, that it is part of the rugby landscape now and that w don’t have much choice if we want to keep these guys.
3. There is one gem in this article though: The sentence that Marcell will be returning to the Sharks after his stint in Japan. Is that official? I hope so! In that case…YAY!!!!