The Junior Boks have suffered a late injury blow before their opening match against Argentina in the Sanzaar U20 Rugby Championship in Gqeberha.
Hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele, who sustained an ankle injury late last week in Stellenbosch, has been replaced by Mahle Sithole for the four-nation tournament from April 27 to May 9.
The tournament, which also features teams from New Zealand and Australia, will be played on three match days (April 27 and May 3 and 9) at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
“Injuries are unfortunately part of the game, and we want to wish Siphosethu well with his recovery,” SA coach Kevin Foote said. “He is one of our leaders in the group and has a lot of experience of the Junior Bok set-up.
“However, his injury has now given Mahle a great chance to showcase his abilities, and I am sure he is excited about his call-up.”
The Junior Boks arrived in Gqeberha on Sunday and are spending the week sharpening their preparations for Monday’s clash against Argentina.
“The people of the Friendly City are passionate rugby supporters, and we are looking forward to connecting with them during our stay in Gqeberha,” Foote said.
“We are all excited to be here and are looking forward to the week’s training and our participation against the best teams in the southern hemisphere.”
Foote has included three members of the SA U20 squad that won the Junior World Championship in Italy in 2025, as well as several of the most promising young local rugby talents.
Captain Riley Norton, Oliver Reid and Vusi Moyo were members of the successful Junior Bok side in 2025.
They are joined in the squad by Markus Muller, Ethan Adams (both centres), Gert Kemp (No 8) and Kai Pratt (prop), all of whom played for the SA U18 side last year.
The Junior Bok squad was picked from the SA U20 training group who had been preparing for the forthcoming Sanzaar event in Stellenbosch for the past two weeks.
Cheswill Jooste (wing) and Zekhethelo Siyaya (fullback) were placed on standby pending their duties in the United Rugby Championship, with Jade Muller and Akahluwa Boqwana.
Injury also ruled out regular Junior Bok training squad member Luan Giliomee after the Blitzbok utility player sustained an unspecified niggle.
Foote said reducing the training squad from 43 players to 31 for the tournament was not easy.
“We asked a lot of the group over the past two weeks, because we wanted to step up the intensity and increase their fitness, and they responded splendidly,” he said.
“The Junior Boks know from experience that the southern hemisphere teams play a high-tempo game, and we are looking forward to playing an exciting brand of rugby with lots of ball in play.
“We tailored our camp programme around those focus areas so that we can prepare our players accordingly for what they will encounter in the Rugby Championship.”
Fixtures
April 27, 2pm: New Zealand vs Australia; 4.10pm: Junior Boks vs Argentina.
May 3, 2pm: New Zealand vs Argentina; 4.10pm: Junior Boks vs Australia.
May 9, 2pm: Argentina vs Australia; 4.10pm: Junior Boks vs New Zealand
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