Four youngsters from Western Province have been included in the South African U20 squad for the upcoming Junior World Cup in Paarl and Stellenbosch later this month.
One of the four chosen for the squad, loose-forward Paul de Villiers, will lead the Junior Boks into battle on home soil in this tournament for the first time since 2012 - incidentally also the last time SA won the tournament.
Prop Zachary Porthen is the only other WP forward in the squad, with scrumhalf Imaad Khan and centre Damian Markus being the only WP backline players in coach Bafana Nhleko’s squad.
The #JuniorBoks squad for the @WorldRugby U20 Championship have been announced - more here: https://t.co/c9milclYrm 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦#JourneyToGreatness #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/YmJtRkb6Sh
— Junior Springboks (@JuniorBoks) June 2, 2023
Nhleko says of his squad: “This selection is a great testimony of SA Rugby’s Elite Player Development programme paying dividends and I’m very excited to take these players into the tournament.”
The tournament kicks off on June 24, with South Africa drawn in Pool C alongside Argentina, Italy and Georgia.