The product of Grey College in Bloemfontein, Cronjé, made his Currie Cup debut for the Cheetahs last season after having joined the team from Clermont in France.

The SA U20 side has also seen the call-up of two additional players in the form of Brandon Wilkie and Kian Meadon from the Sharks.

Cronjé says it’s an honour to be named the captain of the national U20 team.

“At first I was just happy, but a couple of minutes later, it kicked in that the coach has entrusted our leadership group with an important task, something we will embrace to the best of our abilities.

“It will be important for us to make sure the squad is all pulling in the same direction and aim for the same outcome.

“We have an amazing group of players here and they have worked so hard to finally get this opportunity to play for their country at this stage of their careers, I do not think it will be a tough task, to be honest.

“Our jobs will actually be easy, we just need to make sure all the energy and focus flows in the same direction and the enjoyment of the task at hand will follow. We all want to enjoy this moment as well, so there will be smiles on faces too.”

In 2019, Cronjé was the captain of the South African Schools team.

The BabyBoks tackle Uruguay on Friday at the Markötter Fields in Stellenbosch.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport