SA U20 camp concludes

Cape Town - The South African Under-20s' successful training camp in Stellenbosch concluded with a tough friendly match against Maties on Friday.

Although Maties won the game by 31-21, SA U20 coach Dawie Theron still proclaimed the camp a success.

Theron and his assistants, Nazeem Adams and Brendan Venter, had two weeks to work with a squad of 31 players, during which time they managed to put in a lot of playing structure with an eye on the Junior World Championship in June.

"The camp was very valuable in terms of our preparation for the Junior World Champs. We've really progressed and I have to applaud the players for the hard work they put in in mostly very hot conditions," said Theron.

"The players now fully understand how we want to play and can further fine-tune our plans when we host Argentina in April.

"Hopefully most members of the squad will get game time in the Vodacom Cup and Varsity Cup, which will improve their match fitness and confidence even more."

Speaking about the friendly against Maties, Theron said it was very good match preparation for his team against one of the best club sides in the country.

The match was split up in three chukkas of 30 minutes each. Maties took an early 14-0 lead and although the SA U20s fought back well, they could never catch up on the score board.

"Our two training games were never about the result though. I thought our set piece play was good against Maties, and we're making great progress in implementing our defensive structures, said Theron.

"Maties came at us hard and I was very happy with the character showed by my players against a team that consisted of players that had played at Absa Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup level."

Shaun Adendorff, Pat Howard and JJ de Klerk scored tries for the SA U20s, while Tony Jantjies converted all three.