Junior Bok stars Bosch and Moerat raring to go

29 May 2017 - 18:54 By Craig Ray
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Sharks flyhalf Curwin Bosch in action during the training session and press conference at Growthpoint Kings Park on April 24, 2017 in Durban, South Africa.
Sharks flyhalf Curwin Bosch in action during the training session and press conference at Growthpoint Kings Park on April 24, 2017 in Durban, South Africa.
Image: Steve Haag/Gallo Images

Junior Springbok star Curwin Bosch says they are raring to go two days before their Junior World Championship opening match against Six Nations runners-up France in Tbilisi.

The team arrived in Georgia on Saturday after flying via Istanbul and are well settled into their routine as the opening match approaches.

Coach Chean Roux’s team have had a series of field and gym sessions since their arrival‚ and the coach will announce his match 23 to face France on Tuesday.

  • Allister Coetzee chooses team that may keep him away from guillotineWhen Allister Coetzee this week named his 31-man squad to play France next month, it would have been easy for him to surrender to the moment and lose sight of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. 

“We are feeling great‚” said Bosch‚ who is one of eight players who participated in the 2016 edition of the tournament in Manchester‚ England‚ last year. “We have had a few good training sessions in the last few days and we are looking forward to the game.

"It was a long trip to Tbilisi‚ but we have recovered well and we are settled in‚ so our only focus now is on the first match against France.” Bosch‚ who was one of the nominees for the World Rugby U20 Championship player of the tournament award last year‚ admitted that as with all national teams worldwide there was pressure on the players.

But the Super Rugby player with the Sharks added they would take each match in their stride. “There is always pressure when you represent your country‚ but the guys are handling it well‚” said Bosch.

  • Toulon success could cost Duane starting berth against FranceSpringbok looseforward Duane Vermeulen will only join the squad five days before the opening Test against France because of club commitments‚ which could have an impact on making the run-on Test team. 

“The important thing for us is to focus on our strengths rather than what France has to offer. So we are ready to go and we are looking forward to a great match.”

Lock Salmaan Moerat‚ who captained Paarl Boys High and SA Schools last year‚ will continue a family legacy when he takes the field during the tournament. He hails from a rugby family.

His father Nazim Moerat represented the former SARU team in the 1980s‚ while his great uncle Moutie Moerat and his brother in law‚ Esa Abrahams‚ founded Vineyards RFC in the 1940s. “My father played rugby many years ago‚ so this is a big occasion for me and my family.

"The opportunities we have these days is vastly different to those that my family had‚ so I would like to make the most of this chance to make them proud.

“Our preparation has gone well since the beginning of March‚ and we have all learned so much as players thanks to the new dimension the coaches have brought to the finer details of the game.

"So it is now our responsibility to implement that which we have learned in our matches. “I grew up with rugby being a large part of my life. As a family we spent most of our spare time watching rugby and we often went to support club games in Paarl.

“This was undoubtedly a driving force for me to take my rugby seriously‚ and my family have supported me immensely in this journey. They always try to attend my matches and they motivate me to work hard every day.”

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport

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