Captain Siphosethu Mnebelele and flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed say unity and discipline will be key to South Africa’s Junior World Championship title defence on Saturday.
The Junior Springboks tackle France in Tbilisi (kick-off 6:30pm SA time) and Mnebelele, playing in his second Junior World Championship, said the group has stayed locked on the job at hand.
“We are well prepared for the final match, and we are all excited to represent South Africa in the final,” he said. “This is a new group, essentially, and our focus is only on the game and nothing else.
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“Our focus is to be ready to take on a very good French side.”
Ahmed credited the coaching and medical staff for building an environment that has driven the squad’s progress. “Our coaching staff and medical team have been awesome in preparing us, not only for this match, but for the entire time that we’ve been together,” he said.
“They make it a really good environment for us, and all the boys are so focused and disciplined.”
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He also pointed to squad depth and shared purpose as central to the run: “It is really a team effort every day that we spend together. Those who are not in the team help the coaches prepare the guys who are playing.
“We have 80 minutes left of this campaign, and we will give it our absolute best.”
The Junior Boks will wear black armbands during the final in memory of former SA U18 prop Luqobo Makwedini, who died on 10 July following a training session with his French club, AS Béziers Hérault.
Photo: @SAJuniorRugby/X
The post Junior Boks focused on grand finale appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Captain Siphosethu Mnebelele and flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed say unity and discipline will be key to South Africa’s Junior World Championship title defence on Saturday.
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