‘Youngsters have brought intensity, excitement and hunger to Springboks squad’
· Citizen
Springbok captain Pieter-Steph du Toit as well as assistant coach Mzwandile Stick are excited to see what the likes of recent Junior Bok stars Vusi Moyo and Jaco Williams bring to the Test stage when the world champions take on Wales in a Nations Championship match at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday (5.40pm).
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Moyo and Williams were part of the SA U20 team that won the world title last year.
Two other players will be on debut for the Boks in Durban on Saturday, namely prop Carlu Sadie and lock Ruben van Heerden.
“There’s been a lot of focus on the new guys coming in this week, but if you look at our team sheet you will see a lot of experience in our team,” said Stick on Friday.
“But, yes, we’ve rewarded guys who’ve shown potential. It also shows you don’t have to play 50 United Rugby Championship games to become a Springbok.”
Stick continued to sing the praises of Moyo and Williams.
“These youngsters are so mature. Vusi’s mindset is something else, it’s like he’s old, he’s so strong mentally. Of course he’ll be nervous [on Saturday] … but we saw in the match he played against the Barbarians what soft touches he has and that he doesn’t hold back. We’re all excited to see what he can do.
“And let’s not forget, he’s got Cobus [Reinach] on his inside and Damian [de Allende] on his outside.
“Also Jaco, he has Kurt-Lee Arendse there at the back and Aphelele [Fassi] … both really experienced players. What a special story his is … coming from Somerset East. He’s a good kid and we’re excited for him to get this opportunity.”
‘Excitement’
Du Toit was also full of praise for the young members of the greater Bok squad.
“Quite a few young guys joined us this season. They’ve all come in with an open mind and adapted so fast … to how we want to play, to how our system works, and what’s expected of them.
“They’ve also brought an intensity and excitement to the squad, and a hunger … that’s been good to see.
“To play for the Boks is an unbelievable honour and privilege and I’m sure they will go out there on Saturday and give it everything they have.”
Stick said that while the Boks were fully focused on beating Wales, for an 11th straight Test win, they had the bigger picture in mind of collecting as many log points as possible to give themselves their best chance later this year to play in the final of the new Nations Championship competition.
“We always look at the bigger picture … building to 2027 [World Cup],’ said the assistant coach.
“But this is a new tournament and a new challenge for all of us. It’s nice there’s a link between these July Tests and the November Tests, the fact there’s a bigger goal at play. Of course we want to play in the final at Twickenham, but we’re still going to take it one game at a time, and right now our focus is on a good performance against Wales.”