Coach Kevin Foote given some of his key Junior Springboks a rest for their final pool match against Scotland in Calvisano on Wednesday.
Top try-scorer Haashim Pead is on the bench with captain Riley Norton dropping out of the match-23, while fullback Gilermo Mentoe, winger Cheswill Jooste, outside centre Gino Cupido, and flyhalf Vusi Moyo are retained from the starting fifteen that defeated England on Friday evening.
Loose forward Thando Biyela will captain the side in Norton’s absence.
The South Africans have been impressive in the Championship so far, thrashing Australia 73-17 in their tournament opener and edging out defending champions England 32-22.
An absolute beauty by the #JuniorBoks
#JourneyToGreatness pic.twitter.com/uzJp8Jwowj
— SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) July 7, 2025
In contrast, Scotland are in search of their first win having been hammered 56-19 by England followed by a 34-24 loss to Australia.
But despite that, Foote says they’d be foolish to underestimate the Scots.
“Scotland are a good side,” said the Junior Bok mentor.
“They ran England close in the Six Nations, and we certainly will not underestimate any team ever – we’ll keep our feet on the ground and focus on the next job.”
ALSO: Junior Boks captain hails ‘unbelievable defence’
Foote described the team to face Scotland as an experienced selection with exciting combinations.
“We have players whom we believe have a lot of experience, they know our game very well, and they have a lot of hunger to do well against what will be a highly motivated Scotland on Wednesday,” said Foote.
“We have a strong desire to improve and we are determined to keep building on our game model, and to make sure we maintain our synergy and cohesion as a team,” he said.
Even though they’re assured a place in the knockout stage, the Junior Springboks will be highly motivated to stay unbeaten in Pool A because they will then face the lowest seeded qualifier in the semi-finals.
In Pool B, France and Argentina both sit on 10 points each, while New Zealand top Pool C on nine points. The three pool winners and the best of the second-placed teams will go through to the semi-finals.
The #JuniorBoks are gearing up for their final #WorldRugbyU20s pool game, against Scotland on Wednesday – more here: https://t.co/TWF8c7qQHe
#JourneyToGreatness pic.twitter.com/M8IVC1USFP
— SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) July 7, 2025
JUNIOR SPRINGBOKS: 15 Gilermo Mentoe, 14 Cheswil Jooste, 13 Gino Cupido, 12 Dominic Malgas, 11 Jaco Williams, 10 Vuyo Moyo, 9 Ceano Everson, 8 Stephanus Linde, 7 Matt Romao, 6 Thando Biyela (c), 5 Morne Venter, 4 Jaco Grobbelaar, 3 Jean Erasmus, 2 Juandre Schoeman, 1 Oliver Reid
Bench: 16 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 17 Rambo Kubheka, 18 Herman Lubbe, 19 JJ Theron, 20 Batho Hlekani, 21 Haashim Pead, 22 Ian van der Merwe, 23 Demitre Erasmus
Kick-off is at 3:30pm South African time.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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