Junior Boks arrive at World Champs

Cape Town - The Junior Springboks arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Friday evening in high spirits ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship, which kicks off on Wednesday, May 31.

The team departed for the international spectacle from Cape Town on Thursday evening and travelled to Tbilisi via Istanbul.

They started their recovery from the long journey immediately on arrival at the hotel with a swim.

Junior Springbok backline coach Mzwandile Stick said the energy in the team was fantastic after touching down in Tbilisi as the players soaked up the new scenery from the airport to the hotel.

"The energy in the team is amazing and that is exactly what we as coaches want to see with our opening match only a few days away," said Stick.

"This is a massive opportunity for the players, and you could see that they were ready for the challenge when we left SA. The team was in equally high spirits when we arrived in Tbilisi, despite the long journey, and you could see the delight on the players’ faces to be here when we landed.

"Obviously recovery is very important now, as our first match is on Wednesday, but the players had a good swim on arrival, and after a good night’s rest we will be able to get on with training."

The squad will follow a similar training routine to that at the last two camps in Stellenbosch from Saturday as they put together the final touches in preparation for the clash against France.

"We plan to follow the same training routine as that which we have in the last few weeks from Saturday, so the players can slot back into their normal routine from the outset of the tour," said Stick.

"The fact that the time difference between SA and Georgia is only two hours will also benefit us because it means the players do not have to adjust to a new time zone.

"As a team we are very excited about the challenge ahead. We have prepared well, and now it is time to put that hard work into practice on the field."

The SA U20’s will kick off their campaign against France before meeting hosts, Georgia, and Argentina in their remaining pool matches on Sunday, June 4 and Thursday, June 8 respectively.

Junior Springbok World Rugby U20 Championship fixtures (SA Times):

Wednesday, May 31: 13h30 – SA v France

Sunday, June 4: 16h00 – SA v Georgia

Thursday, June 8: 13h30 – SA vs Argentina