Reid’s career trajectory so far has seen him rapidly progress through the national age-group structures and straight into the professional ranks of DHL Western Province and the DHL Stormers, who are both based in Cape Town.

Shortly after his exploits with the successful Junior Springboks at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Italy, the young prop turned out for DHL Western Province in the Carling Currie Cup and the DHL Stormers in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC).

Reid’s strong scrummaging and powerful ball carrying have drawn early praise, with DHL Stormers coach John Dobson notably describing the 19-year-old as having striking similarities to a young Steven Kitshoff.

The strong prop is one of five championship-winning Junior Boks in the SA U19 Academy squad currently touring Europe, playing fixtures against the French and Irish U19 teams - a crucial step in the national Elite Player Development (EPD) pathway.

Reflecting on the whirlwind period after the Junior Boks’ world champs success, Reid said the first week back home from Italy was amazing.

“Coming back home and spending time with the family, taking it all in, was so special to all of us,” said Reid.

“Then it was straight back into Currie Cup. I was lucky to be given the opportunity to make my debut and play a few matches for DHL WP. And then, a few weeks ago, I was called up to the DHL Stormers and made my Vodacom URC debut.”

For Reid and his teammates, things moved fast after that: “We heard that the (U19) camp was going to happen and that we would be coming to France, and I remember saying to Riley (Norton), Vusi (Moyo), and Esethu (Mnebelele) that we are hopefully going to see each other again!

“It was straight into camp, arriving in Stellenbosch for a week. We had a few rainy training days, but we really enjoyed camp in Stellies as it brought the guys together before we flew out to France.”

Nowadays, Reid is proudly one of the leaders in the group: “Coming into the set-up now, you’re taking a more mature approach, being that guy who has been part of the group for a year. It’s very special and you now go to a training session where people are looking at you to set the tone.

“I think for the returning players, we know how special it feels to put on that Junior Bok jersey, and we know how hard we fought before. We can’t wait to take this group forward, learning all the time along the way.”

Based at Marcoussis, the heart of French rugby, Reid and his teammates are soaking up the experience.

“The facilities here are fantastic, and the boys are loving every minute of this journey,” he said.

“The senior French team are also based here, and walking around, proudly in our green and gold colours, we got a few dirty looks already, which is understandable because of Saturday’s massive Test in Paris,” he added with a wink.

Reid also mentioned the good cooperation between the two proud rugby nations at junior level: “The two teams have a very good relationship off the field. Like yesterday, on our off day, the two teams came together in the evening to share feedback of our combined sessions on Monday, which was really special.

“Having that before our international game on Saturday just helps so much to improve our preparation for the coming match. I took a lot out of it, and I know the other boys also learned a lot from the shared insights.”

The Monday session, which included opposed unit work and a 30-minute training hit-out, really whet their appetite, he said: “Judging from the mood in the camp, I know the boys are raring to go! Just in terms of the mentality, after that hit-out, we now know what’s coming and we can’t wait for Saturday.”

The SA U19 Academy side to face France U19 in Châteauroux on Saturday will be announced on Friday morning.