The Junior Springboks will play two warm-up matches against England and Wales in preparation for the World Rugby U20 Championship in Argentina in June.
Chean Roux’s charges will take on England in Coventry on 26 April, while the clash against Wales will take place on 30 April, with the venue set to be announced in due course.
These matches will increase the team’s warm-up games against international opposition to five, following the announcement on Thursday that they will meet Argentina, Georgia and a Namibian XV early in April.
The squad will depart for the UK on 23 April and will return on 2 May, which will be followed by a two-week training camp in Stellenbosch.
‘This tour will serve as the perfect preparation for the players ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship, because apart from exposing them to teams that will be participating in the competition, they will also get a taste of playing overseas and going on tour,’ Roux said.
‘All three sides will use these matches to measure where they are with an eye on the U20 Championship, and to determine which areas they still need work on before departing for Argentina, so we are expecting tough clashes.
‘England and Wales are fresh off their U20 Six Nations campaigns, where England finished third and Wales fourth, so they will enter these warm-up games with settled squads, which will be fantastic preparation for our team.’
The Junior Boks will kick off their U20 Championship campaign against Scotland on 4 June, before taking on Georgia (8 June) and New Zealand (12 June) in the pool stage.
Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images
