The Junior Boks' opponents, especially the Los Pumitas and Georgian packs, are well known for their scrumming power and for Shongwe it is an exciting prospect to be tested in that department, next to his fellow front rankers.

"Scrums are not about one player only, but yes, there will be some physical demands that is for sure," said Shongwe, who was part of the SA Rugby Academy side and played their warm-up matches, as well as a brief stint with the University of Witwatersrand in the recent FNB Varsity Cup.

"We are looking forward to that challenge as a unit and worked hard to make sure we do things right come game time. This is an amazing opportunity for us to represent our country, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be grabbed."

The 20-year-old Lions player was schooled at Jeppe Boys High in Johannesburg and got to know the workings of head coach, Bafana Nhleko, from an early age.

"Yes, coach Bafana was involved at our school, and I got to know him from my early days there," said Shonge, who hails from Ermelo.

"I joined Jeppe when I went to high school. In Ermelo I was playing No 8 and was offered an opportunity at Jeppe. Once I arrived there, I started as a prop. And have been playing tighthead ever since."

The Junior Boks had their capping ceremony on Tuesday evening, and Nhleko will on Wednesday name his team for their opener on Friday against Uruguay (kick-off 15h00). All the matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport.