Bok coach Mzwandile Stick excited to see Sharks youngsters take on All Blacks

Former Junior Springbok Player of the Year, Jurenzo Julius is pictured in action for SA A against Zimbabwe. He is one of several rising stars the Sharks have selected to face the All Blacks. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick is eager to see several young stars in action when the Sharks play the All Blacks in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.

The teams clash at Kings Park on Tuesday night (kick-off 7.10pm) in the second of four matches between the All Blacks and local clubs, after the visitorsbeat the Stormerssix tries to three (score 38-21) in Cape Town on Friday. That game was close, with the score 14-all with 13 minutes left, before a loose final 10 minutes skewed the final scoreline. Stick said it was good to see astrong Stormers sidetake on the All Blacks.

It was also good to see Junior Bok flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed face off against “one of the best flyhalves in the world” Beauden Barrett. Stick coached several of the Sharks’ rising stars when they featured for the SA A side thatthrashed Zimbabwe 40-0in June. Zekhethelo Siyaya, Luan Giliomee, Emmanuel and Vincent Tshituka, Phepsi Buthelezi, Liam van Wyk and Jurenzo Julius were named in theSharks teamto face the All Blacks less than two months after that strong SA A performance, which Stick said showed the youngsters had thepotential to become Springboksone day.

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“It’s good to see a couple of those youngsters are getting an opportunity. And I’ve worked with some of them. When I was coaching SA A, the majority of those boys are so mature.” He said Giliomee, Van Wyk, Rambo Kubheka and their Junior Springbok teammates showed this when they defended theirU20 World Championship titlein Georgia.

“The way some of those players were performing, you could see that now the belief is there. Stick said interactions with Springbok Test centurions and experienced players went a long way in strengthening a youngster’s mental game, and building a team-first culture.

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