Pead, Cupido back as Junior Springboks make key changes for U20 clash with New Zealand
Gino Cupido Gino Cupido scored the final try for the Junior Springboks against Argentina. Photo: WORLD RUGBY
Image: WORLD RUGBY
Only five members of the Junior Springbok squad that lost against Australia in the Under-20 Rugby Championship have been retained for Sunday's massive clash against New Zealand at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha (4.10pm kickoff).
Junior Bok coach Kevin Foote continued the trend of making wholesale changes to his side in the tournament as the hosts push for a strong finish.
The South Africans had started off with a come-from-behind win over Argentina, before falling short against the resurgent Junior Wallabies on Tuesday afternoon.
Foote has included five players from the side that faced Australia for their clash against New Zealand.
In the pack, loosehead prop Simphiwe Ngobese, lock and captain Riley Norton and No 8 Wandile Mlaba are retained from the side that fell just short against Australia.
Vusi Moyo, who gave a strong performance against the Aussies, retains the flyhalf berth, while exciting attacker Cheswill Jooste will run out at right wing as the only backs starting again.
Norton, Mlaba and Jooste will start their third successive games in the competition.
The Junior Boks had a robust review of their match against Australia, and have worked hard on those aspects of their game they have identified for improvement.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
They had trouble in the set-piece in the first half against Argentina, but were largely improved in that facet of play against the Wallabies.
The breakdown was a source of frustration for Foote, however.
The #JuniorBoks are determined to finish the #TRCU20 on a positive note against New Zealand in Gqeberha tomorrow - more here: more here: https://t.co/4gACEJzGk5 🇿🇦#JourneyToGreatness pic.twitter.com/sMapcNft0G — SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) May 10, 2025
With the number of changes made, the Junior Springbok coach risks fixing one area of concern while opening up others.
Players need time to build partnerships on the field, and the chopping and changing of players makes that difficult.
The New Zealand U20 side have proven expert at exploiting any weakness in the opposition ranks, as they showed with their thrashing of Argentina in their last match.
If the Junior Boks don't gel from the opening whistle, it could be a long afternoon for the home side.
Foote feels that his players will be up for the challenge against South Africa's biggest rugby rivals in front of what promises to be a big crowd at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
'Obviously we were bitterly disappointed with not winning the Australian game, but there were some great learnings for us in preparation for the World Championship,' said Foote.
'I thought that our set-piece took a big step forward, and we controlled a lot of the game for a period, but there are aspects for us to work on, in particular our breakdown.
'We got turned over too often while some of the kicking patterns were out of character, which we look to fix and get some clarity around that.'
From an attacking perspective, the return of scrumhalf Haashim Pead, who scored two tries against Los Pumitas, and fellow scorer Gino Cupido on the left wing, will be welcome.
Cupido enjoyed a fine cameo off the bench, sparking the attack into life later on against the Australian side.
Pead will be itching to show his pedigree once again, having been left out of the squad altogether.
'We're bringing some players back from the first game, while retaining some guys who played in the second game. That will bring some freshness to the match-23, and there is real excitement in the squad for our match on Sunday,' Foote explained.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
Jacques Kallis: Proteas set to thrive in swinging conditions at Lord's
SWINGING CONDITIONS Jacques Kallis predicts the Proteas will have an edge over Australia in the WTC final at Lord's due to their superior adaptability to swinging conditions and moving ball expertise. Picture: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix While both SA and the Aussies play their Test cricket with a Kookaburra ball, the Dukes in England would also assist any swing on offer. The initial forecast is set for partly cloudy skies in warm conditions on the opening day, before 45% of rain is predicted for Thursday. The 49-year-old Kallis, who played 166 Tests for South Africa, said the pitch and overhead conditions will be closer to what the Proteas players would be more accustomed to. The Proteas will be better suited to the swinging conditions they are likely to encounter in the World Test Championship ( WTC ) final at Lord's, in London, against Australia , according to legendary SA all-rounder Jacques Kallis . South Africa's Edge in Moving Ball Conditions: Kallis' Insights on Proteas vs Australia Test Clash "Sometimes the pitch can be really flat, but generally it does do a bit. And there's more movement in South Africa than there is in Australia, so our batters are better at dealing with the moving ball than the Australians are, because they spend half their lives playing against it,' Kallis told "But Australia's batsmen are skilful too and both teams have good attacks. To maximise revenue and make sure the match goes the distance, the pitch will probably be good for batting, but I think the Proteas maybe have a slight edge in that department.' As for who he considered favourites for the match, Kallis was on the fence. "Australia would probably be favourites if it was a series, but in a one-off Test, anything can happen. It's more of a 50/50 game for me, and a lot depends on the day, the overhead conditions, and who wins the toss. Conditions can vary so much at Lord's.' Last week, Proteas bowler Dane Paterson said his side did not believe they were the underdogs. Since Shukri Conrad took charge of the SA cricket teams across all three formats after the resignation of Rob Walter as the limited-overs coach in April, a new era in Proteas cricket could be dawning, believed the 36-year-old Paterson. @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
IOL News
6 hours ago
- IOL News
Leinster cruise through to URC final against Bulls but their jaded fans are not convinced
Despite being labelled the 'best in Europe' for years, the Irish giants have not lifted a major trophy since 2018. The semi-final victory did break one curse — they had lost their last three URC semi-finals, including a defeat to the Bulls — but the spectre of failure still looms large, particularly in the Champions Cup, where they've been runners-up too many times for their supporters to count. The men in blue were emphatic in ending the reign of defending champions Glasgow on Saturday, running in six tries in a 37–19 semi-final win. But for Leinster fans, reaching finals no longer means much — not after a string of near-misses and heartbreaks. The 'chokers' tag still pinned to the Leinster mast could well be the Bulls' biggest ally in Saturday's United Rugby Championship final in Dublin. More recently, Leinster were stunned at home by the Northampton Saints in a Champions Cup semi-final, prompting critics to argue the team was past its sell-by date and that some veterans needed to be moved on. Tellingly, before the Glasgow match, several Irish television pundits tipped the Warriors to win — a clear sign of how far confidence in Leinster had slipped. But a fired-up Leinster outfit came bursting out of the blocks. Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan crossed early, and centre Jamie Osborne added a brace of tries as the hosts raced ahead. By half-time, the match was effectively over as a contest. Leinster added two more tries after the break, with Glasgow salvaging respectability through two late consolation scores. The Bulls' analysts will no doubt take note of scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park's masterclass — the New Zealand-born No 9 dictated tempo and peppered Glasgow with astute kicks that regularly caused fumbles. However, they'll also have seen defensive frailties in Leinster flyhalf Sam Prendergast, who was exposed more than once. This ongoing issue is widely believed to have cost him a place in the British and Irish Lions squad set to tour Australia. That gives the Bulls a clear tactical opportunity: pressurise the brilliant Gibson-Park, and target Prendergast when attacking. The Bulls' back three, meanwhile, can expect another aerial assault on Saturday at Croke Park. Gibson-Park will almost certainly employ the same high-pressure kicking game that undid the Warriors. Still, for all Leinster's brilliance, few fans will believe they've finally broken their finals curse until they see captain and No 8 Jack Conan lifting the URC trophy. There is, however, a sense that the team has been sobered by past failures. The complacency that once cost them dearly appears to have been replaced by urgency and humility. That new mindset was perfectly captured in the post-match comments of Player of the Match Ryan Baird, the blindside flanker. 'We needed to turn up today — no excuses,' he said. 'We couldn't take it for granted. I was telling myself beforehand, I don't have a decision today — I have to turn up. 'We want to win this tournament, and that means you've got to show up. If you don't, you lose and you're out. It's as simple as that.'
The South African
13 hours ago
- The South African
Forget Xhosa, Jesse Kriel shows off impressive Japanese!
Jesse Kriel is known for being a perfectionist when it comes to many aspects of his life; fitness, his figure, and his performance on the pitch. Which is why a clip of him mastering the language of Japanese comes as no surprise to anyone. The Springbok star plays for the Canon Eagles in Yokohama, Japan. In a clip posted on TikTok, Jesse Kriel and fellow Springbok Faf de Klerk were interviewed by a Japanese rugby commentator. Like Jesse, Faf lives and plays in the country for the Canon Eagles. But while Faf appeared to botch the language, Jesse spoke it fluently! In fact, the centreback conversed at length with his Japanese pal. Take a look… @lekkeryudo I'll definitely come back to South Africa!!! Wag asseblief 😉 #southafrica #suidafrica #afrikaans #jessekriel #japanese #neh #letslearnjapanese #faf #springboks #rugby ♬ original sound – lekkeryudo🇯🇵 Last year, Jesse Kriel won the hearts of many South Africans after a clip of him speaking Xhosa went viral. In a clip posted on social media by SuperSport, Jess was interviewed by Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick on their team's 2024 season. Speaking Xhosa, Mzwandile asked Jesse how he felt about winning 11 out of 13 games. The athletic player – known for his chiselled physique – responded: 'Ndicel' i13 out of 13 [I wanted 13 out of 13].' He added in English: 'We dropped the ball, and we're very disappointed. It's small margins. Next season, we want to push to go even better'. He added, thanking Mzwandile for his hard work, 'Ngiyabonga Mqeqeshi [thank you, boss].' Jesse Kriel – who was born in Cape Town and lived in KwaZulu-Natal – is fluent in English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
