SA URC derby delight: Four youngsters to keep an eye on among the Springbok stars

With all the focus on the huge number of Springbok stars featuring this weekend, some impactful youngsters may fly under the radar and make a big impact. A cracking first round of South African United Rugby Championship (URC) derbies are set to thrill fans across the country on Saturday as the Bulls and Lions collide in their cross-Jukskei clash on the Highveld, while the Stormers and Sharks go head-to head in Cape Town. Much of the build-up to these matches has been centred around the Springbok firepower that has been brought into the teams, with the Bulls, Stormers and Sharks all loading their sides with Bok stars, while the Lions have also brought their few national players into their starting side. But this weekend will also provide a huge opportunity for a number of exciting up and coming young talents to stand up and be counted among their more illustrious star studded teammates during the matches in Pretoria and Cape Town. Here are four youngsters, one from each team, to keep an eye on on Saturday, as well as a few others that have a chance to put their hands up. Lions: Ethan Adams The stocky 19-year-old centre talent has already earned himself the nickname “The Tank” for his short but powerful stature, and although looking at him you would expect him to be the traditional No 12 who mainly goes crash ball, he has also got a great pair of feet, so can step players at will and put on the afterburners when needed. Adams won the Junior U20 World Championship title with the Junior Springboks in Georgia earlier this year, primarily playing at inside centre in a thrilling centre combination with another rising star in Markus Muller. He made his senior Lions debut in the Currie Cup competition, and followed that up with his Lions international debut off the bench in their URC opener against Leinster at Ellis Park. Adams then showed he is equally adept at playing 13 as he started there in the absence of Henco van Wyk against Ospreys last weekend. He now gets his second start of the competition, shifting back to 12, as Van Wyk returns to partner him in a monster derby against the Bulls, and he will be looking to continue his impressive start to the season. Stormers: Riley Norton A potentially massive career is on the cards for the 20-year-old Norton, who is already highly regarded by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus. He has already made his first Bok appearance, but in a non-Test against the invitational Barbarians in June, and Erasmus admits he would have earned his first Bok cap in the July internationals if he hadn’t picked up a hamstring injury in training with the national team. That also ruined his chances of picking up back-to-back Junior World Championship titles. But Norton does have a winner’s medal after captaining the Junior Boks to last year’s Junior World Champs title in Italy, and he is now set for a breakout season for the Stormers after making his debut in their opening match against Connacht. He started the first two games, at flank and then at lock against Edinburgh, and he will now look to make a big impact off the bench, with him swapping places with Adre Smith, who gets a start. Norton will be pumped to bring plenty of energy into the game whenever he is called up in their derby against the Sharks. Bulls: Cheswill Jooste Jooste, although being just 20-years-old, is the most experienced of the youngsters on this list, after he made his Bulls debut at the start of last season and went on to play nine games for them in the URC and Champions Cup competitions over the campaign, with seven starts and two bench appearances. He is also a double U20 Junior World Championship winner having represented the Junior Boks over their campaigns in Italy last year and Georgia this year, and a very bright future is expected for the exciting outside back. Jooste will, however, be looking to make his impact off the bench for the Bulls in their cross-Jukskei derby against the Lions at Loftus on Saturday, with both his appearances this season having come off the bench on tour against Zebre and Munster. He will be eager to produce a big performance, especially with a number of Springbok stars having returned to the Bulls, adding plenty of competition for places going forward. But if he can continue as he has been Jooste should be a regular fixture for them over the season. Sharks: Zekhethelo Siyaya Utility back Siyaya made massive waves with his Sharks senior debut as an 18-year-old at the end of last season and then was desperately unlucky to catch a stray boot from a teammate in the face playing for the South African A side against Zimbabwe in June, with that injury ruling him out of the Junior Boks’ 2026 U20 Junior World Championship winning campaign. The now 19-year-old worked his way back to full fitness in the off season and made his return off the bench in his team’s URC opener against Ospreys. He again played off the bench in their second game against Leinster, but will now make his first start of the campaign at fullback in their coastal derby against the Stormers in Cape Town. Siyaya comes in for another electrifying youngster, Luan Giliomee, who has made a move to the Bulls, and he will hope to make as big an impact as Giliomee did for the Sharks in the first two games. Sharks coach JP Pietersen backed him, saying they were happy to ease him back in over the first two games, and this was the perfect time for him to get a start. Other youngsters who will look to make an impact Vusi Moyo, at just 20-years-old, already has two Springbok appearances, in a non-Test against the Barbarians and his first cap against Wales. He has started all three games for the Sharks at flyhalf this season, and now gets a chance to go toe-to-toe with Bok superstar Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. The 22-year-old Siba Mahashe and 21-year-old Batho Hlekani make for a fearsome duo who will look to make a huge impact as part of the Lions “bomb squad” against a Springbok laden Bulls, and will hope to give their side a big boost in the second half. The 21-year-old Haashim Pead has already made 12 appearances for the Lions in last season’s URC and Challenge Cup, but now has to show why so much fanfare has been made about him joining the Stormers, when he makes his debut for them off the bench against the Sharks.