Where are they now: 2012 Junior Boks

SA Rugby magazine circles back on the Junior Springboks who started the 2012 World Rugby U20 Championship final against New Zealand in Cape Town.

As South Africa prepares to host the U20 Championship for a third time, take a look back at the last team to play in the tournament on home soil and win the title in an exciting final against New Zealand.

15 Dillyn Leyds
Made his debut for Western Province in the Vodacom Cup in 2013, but moved to Australia for a short stint with the Western Force the following year. A return to Cape Town in 2014 saw him make his Stormers debut in 2015 and earn his Springbok debut under Allister Coetzee in 2017. Moved to France in 2020 and is a double Champions Cup winner with La Rochelle, but has featured just once for the Springboks in the Rassie Erasmus era.

14 Raymond Rhule
One of the stars of the U20 campaign, Rhule broke into the Cheetahs team in 2012. After making over 50 appearances in six years for the Cheetahs, Rhule moved to the Stormers at the end of 2017. Unfortunately, he never quite settled at the Cape side, while his Test career was affected by playing in a Bok team that constantly changed defensive systems. He left South Africa after the 2018 Super Rugby season for Grenoble, before joining Leyds at La Rochelle in 2020, where he also claimed two Champions Cup titles.

13 Kobus van Wyk
A late inclusion in the Junior Springbok squad as he joined the team halfway through the tournament as injury cover for Pat Howard. In fact, his only appearance at the U20 Championship that year came in the final against New Zealand. He played for the Stormers and Sharks, but has had a journeyman career overseas, from the Hurricanes, Bordeaux, and Leicester Tigers to Zebre Parma.

12 Jan Serfontein
Serfontein’s fearless performances earned him Junior World Player of the Year. At the Vodacom Bulls, he formed a promising midfield partnership with Jesse Kriel, which was replicated on the Test scene with the duo starting eight Tests together since 2016. However, a move to Montpellier in 2017 had him exiting the Springbok selection mix, despite his continued good form for the French outfit, helping them claim the 2020-21 European Challenge Cup and the Top 14 in 2022.

11 Tshotsho Mbovane
A schoolboy superstar at Paul Roos, Mbovane was climbing the rugby ladder and building a successful career – playing U13 Craven Week, U16 Grant Khomo, U18 Craven Week, SA Schools, and then eventually joining Paul Treu’s Blitzboks set-up out of high school. His star kept rising after the U20 Championships. Unfortunately, his career took a downward turn from there as he battled injury and off-field issues. After a number of years in the rugby wilderness, Mbovane was back in Langa coaching part time. He was later given an opportunity to find new employment and rediscover his love for rugby by the Naka Bulls Rugby Club in Pretoria and the International Rugby Institute in Pretoria.

10 Handre Pollard
A player who has undoubtedly fulfilled his potential, Pollard would go on to become the Springboks’ first-choice flyhalf and help the team claim the Webb Ellis Cup in 2019. He spent seven years with the Bulls before taking up a contract to join Montpellier after the 2019 World Cup, and then moving to Leicester Tigers in the 2022-23 Premiership season. One of three players in the squad to win the World Cup and helped the Springboks defend their title in 2023.

9 Vian van der Watt
Played for the Lions, Leopards, Eastern Province and Boland, before hanging up his boots in 2018. He currently works as a financial advisor.

8 Fabian Booysen
Provided one of the telling touches of the U20 final by offloading to Jan Serfontein to score the definitive try. Played for UJ and Lions, making his Super Rugby and Currie Cup debut in 2015. He continued to fill in for then-Lions captain Warren Whiteley, until he was released from the Lions in 2018. Played a season for SWD Eagles, before retiring and currently works as a business sales manager.

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit
Another future double World Cup winner, Du Toit would become a regular member of the Springboks after making his Test debut in 2013 against Wales at the Millennium Stadium. Domestically, he made his debut for the Sharks before joining the Stormers. He since thrived – winning three SA Rugby Player of the Year awards and being named 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year. He endured another injury-hit run in 2020 and 2021 and decided to move to Japan, joining Toyota Verblitz.

6 Wiaan Liebenberg (c)
The captain of the 2012 Junior Springboks, Liebenberg enjoyed a memorable 2012, winning the Varsity Cup with UP-Tuks. Played Super Rugby for the Bulls, but in 2015, he was recruited by Jake White to join his revolution at Montpellier with a number of other South African players. After making close to 50 appearances, he switched to La Rochelle in 2018. Liebenberg retired from rugby in 2022 to pursue a career in the finance industry, his final game a trophy-winning one in the 2022 Champions Cup final.

5 Ruan Botha
Botha would go on to make his Super Rugby debut for the Lions in 2012, but returned to Cape Town in 2013 to play for the Stormers and Western Province after the Lions were relegated from Super Rugby. He has since played for the Sharks and London Irish and enjoyed two stints in Japan with Kubota Spears, where he currently plays.

4 Paul Willemse
Willemse played in all five games of the U20 Championship – scoring tries in the pool stage against Ireland and Italy. Like Botha, Willemse made his Super Rugby debut for the Lions in the same year, but then signed for the Bulls for 2013. A year later, Willemse accepted a big-money move to Grenoble and joined after the Currie Cup. He then linked up with Jake White at Montpellier in 2015 and qualified to play for France in 2018 via the residency rule. He made his Test debut for France in the 2019 Six Nations, but missed out on a place in France’s World Cup squads in 2019 and 2023.

3 Maks van Dyk
Van Dyk was used off the bench in the matches against Ireland and England, but then started the next two games against Argentina and New Zealand. Broke through at the Cheetahs, but after the 2014 Currie Cup, he joined Leinster on a short-term loan deal. In 2016, he joined Toulouse before moves to Harlequins, Worcester Warriors and Pau followed. Moved to the USA and plays for the Heyneke Meyer-coached Houston Sabercats.

2 Mark Pretorius
Part of a powerhouse scrum for the Junior Springboks. Played age-grade rugby for the Lions and made his Super Rugby debut in 2014 after injuries robbed the Lions of Robbie Coetzee and Malcolm Marx. Joined the SWD Eagles in 2016 and spent a year with the team before moving back to his hometown Nelspruit with the Pumas in 2017.

1 Steven Kitshoff
The second member of the pack who would go on to win back-to-back World Cup title, Kitshoff was marked for greatness in rugby from an early age and had already made his Super Rugby debut as a teenager for the Stormers in 2011. The loosehead prop has gone on to become a Stormers centurion and captained the team to the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship title. He joined Ulster at the end of 2022-23, but will returned to the Stormers after a season in Belfast.