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More than a third of the players involved at RWC 2015 played in the World Rugby U20 Championship or Trophy tournaments since they were introduced in 2008, with every nation featuring players to graduate from one or both of these to the test arena. But few have enjoyed as quick an ascent to the top or made as big an impact once they’ve got there as South Africa’s Handre Pollard, who first came to prominence on a truly global scale when he played a starring role in the Junior Springboks’ U20 Championship title-winning campaign of 2012. At the conclusion of the 2014 edition of the U20 Championship – his third tournament at that level –Pollard was called up into the Springbok squad by head coach Heyneke Meyer and received his first cap against Scotland at Port Elizabeth just eight days after appearing on the losing side in the final against England. “There wasn’t a lot of time to think about it, the week went quite fast and, of course, I knew this was my opportunity. You don’t get a lot of opportunities to play for the Springboks and if you get one you’ve to got to prove that you want it," he told World Rugby TV.

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