Bosch ready for U20 showpiece
Curwin Bosch is hopeful his Super Rugby experience will allow him to add value to his squad in the World Rugby U20 Championship.
The talented 19-year-old utility back joined his Junior Bok team-mates in Stellenbosch on Sunday where their preparations for the Tbilisi tournament are at an advanced stage. The showpiece will kick off on 31 May, with South Africa taking on France in their opening fixture.
"It's good to be back," said fly-half Bosch who was a nominee for the World Rugby U20 Championship Player of the Tournament last year.
"It is an honour and privilege to be back in the squad for the second time after having played last year. They are a good bunch of guys and they welcomed me at camp with open arms, so I am enjoying being back in the squad."
With a solid Super Rugby run behind him, Bosch hoped that the experience he picked up in the competition would allow him to make a valuable contribution to the SA U20 team.
"The intensity of Vodacom Super Rugby is very high and the games are extremely fast, so I believe that the experienced gained in Super Rugby will help me at the U20 Championship," said Bosch.
"It was a fantastic experience to be exposed to that level of the game. It helped me mature as a player and taught me how to keep calm under pressure, which is fantastic going into a tournament where second chances are rare."
Bosch looked forward to the challenge of familiarising himself with the Junior Bok structures and his team-mates with the competition beginning in a little over three weeks, and said: "I played with some of my team-mates in Manchester last year, so I know them well. But I am looking forward to getting to know the rest of my team-mates, and familiarising myself with the structures and systems.
"This is a fantastic group of players and the environment is very professional, so I should get into the swing of things with ease."
The Junior Springboks will face France, Georgia and Argentina in the pool stages of the tournament in Tbilisi, which runs from 31 May to 18 June.