Springbok call-ups inspire South Africa U20s skipper to follow their lead

When multiple World Cup winner Handrè Pollard broke into the Springbok team and made his debut less than a fortnight after helping South Africa’s U20 team reach the final of the World Rugby Junior World Championship in 2014, it was further evidence that age is no barrier to Test selection.

The pathway between the U20s international rugby and the senior level is well-worn, with Pollard joined on that journey by some notable U20 teammates from that class of 2014, such as Thomas du Toit, Jesse Kriel and Andre Esterhuizen, amongst others, and many more since.

While yet to be capped, last year’s Junior World Championship-winning captain, utility forward Riley Norton, and Sharks fly-half Vusi Moyo are two more examples.

The pair were due to compete in this year’s edition of the World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia but are on now on the cusp of making the step up after being named as surprise picks in Rassie Erasmus’ Nations Championship squad.

Subsequently, Norton has passed the armband on to hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele, whose career is also trending in the right direction afetr appearing for South Africa A against Zimbabwe the other week.

Mnebelele says that Norton and Moyo have set an excellent example for his charges to follow ahead of pool matches against Uruguay, hosts Georgia and Wales.

“What Riley and Vusi have achieved as a team and individuals, you obviously want to achieve the same thing but you know how much work you’ve got to put into it because we’ve trained with them,” he said.

“I’m pretty close with them and just looking at how they have carried themselves over the last two years makes their call-up very deserved.”

As for the challenge ahead in Tbilisi, Mnebelele added: “The boys put in some proper hard yards back in South Africa during our training and we’ve got a lot of nations who are here to compete for the No.1 spot.

“There are a lot of nations who are very good at rugby, so it’s going to be a big challenge, but we’re really excited and pleased to be a part of this tournament. We’re excited to get going.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say it [being defending champions] puts pressure on us, but we have to compete and we’re going to compete as best we can.”

All of the matches from the Junior World Championship will be streamed live on RugbyPass TV, as well as on subscription channel Premier Sports. Click here for the schedule.