The Sharks, Western Province, Bulls and Lions have all named Junior Springbok stars in their squads for the 2025 Currie Cup competition.
A number of players who were part of the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship winning Junior Springboks squad could light up the country’s oldest rugby competition, the Currie Cup, when it kicks off around South Africa this weekend.
Captain Riley Norton’s charges became the second South African U20 side in history to lift the prestigious trophy when they beat fierce rivals, the Junior All Blacks, in the final last weekend, emulating the class of 2012, who beat New Zealand that year on home soil.
Having now arrived back in South Africa after the three week long tournament in Italy, the players may not receive much rest before they are given the chance to make an immediate step up into senior rugby in the Currie Cup.
All of SA’s four main franchises, who all but two (signed to the Cheetahs) of the Junior Bok squad are contracted to, have announced their squads for the competition, with the Bulls naming six junior world championship winners in their group, the Sharks and Western Province eight each, and the Lions four.
First round rest
Most of the teams are unlikely to pick their Junior Bok stars for round one, as they played the final last Saturday and only arrived back in South Africa on Monday, so have yet to train fully with their respective franchises, while the players who featured a lot during the tournament will also need a bit of a break.
But it will be interesting to see how many Junior Boks can now make a splash in the Currie Cup and later push for places in their respective franchise URC sides when that kicks off in September.
A few Junior Bok players have already made their URC debuts, but if the talent that was shown at the U20 showpiece event is anything to go by, many more of them will get a chance over the coming season.
If I had to pick two players from each major franchise to keep an eye on in the Currie Cup, I’d go with Norton and Xola Nyali at Western Province, Bathobele Hlekani and Vusi Moyo at the Sharks, Siphosethu Mnebelele and Cheswill Jooste at the Bulls, and Haashim Pead and Gilermo Mentoe at the Lions.