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Junior Boks hit the road running in Italy

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Junior Boks loose forward Siya Ningiza

The Junior Springboks arrived in Italy on Tuesday evening and immediately went about their business to fine-tune their preparations for Friday’s opening match of the U20 Six Nations Summer Series against England in Verona.

The 30-man squad flew out of Cape Town on Monday evening via Dubai, finishing their 24-hour travel schedule with a bus trip from the airport in Milan to their base in Verona.

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After checking into their Verona hotel in the early evening, the group had activation and massages to get rid of the travel stiffness.

The full training programme resumes on Wednesday, which will consist of some gym work in the morning and then planning and field sessions spread throughout the day.

Thursday is reserved for the captain’s run, where the final preparation of the game strategy will complete the on-field training for Friday’s opening clash with England.

Junior Springbok head coach Bafana Nhleko said the squad were happy to arrive in Verona after their training buildup in Stellenbosch.

“Everyone is excited to be here and over the next two days we will be fine-tuning our plans for England, which will be a massive game,” said Nhleko.

“We want the boys to settle in as quickly as possible and get into their normal routine because we only have two days before the tournament kicks off.”

It’s the first time in three years that the Junior Boks are playing in an overseas tournament again following the disruption of team travelling because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Summer Series teams are split into two groups of four based on World Rugby seedings, with South Africa grouped in a strong Pool A alongside current U20 Six Nations champions Ireland, as well as France, last winners of the World Rugby U20 Championship, and England. Georgia, Scotland, Wales, and Italy are drawn in Pool B.

The Junior Boks will open their pool commitments against England on Friday, 24 June, to be followed by their second match on Wednesday, 29 June against Ireland.

The South Africans will complete their pool fixtures on Tuesday, 5 July against France before playing a final cross-pool fixture one week later, on Tuesday, 12 July, with their opponent to be determined according to the final standings.

Round 1 Six Nations U20 Summer Series  

Pool A:

England vs SA (Payanini Center) KO 5pm – Watch live on Six Nations Rugby YouTube channel

France vs Ireland ((Payanini Center) KO 8pm – Watch live on Six Nations Rugby YouTube channel

Pool B: 

Scotland vs Wales (Stadio Di Monigo) KO 5pm – Watch live on Six Nations Rugby YouTube channel

Italy vs Georgia (Stadio Di Monigo) KO 8pm – Watch live on Six Nations Rugby YouTube channel

Photo: Carl Fourie/Gallo Images