Junior Springboks now genuine U20 Championship contenders
Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton is satisfied with his teams performances but is keeping his eye on the prize in the World Rugby U20 Champs. Picture: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
The Junior Springboks proved that they aren't just a flash in the pan and should be considered genuine contenders for the World Rugby U20 Championship title, after their impressive 32-22 win over defending champions, England, in Italy over the weekend.
Earlier this year the Junior Boks produced an underwhelming U20 Rugby Championship (TRC) campaign on home soil, going down against New Zealand and Australia, while beating Argentina, to finish third in the Southern Hemisphere competition.
But in their first pool match of the U20 champs they erased that pain with a monstrous 73-17 win over Australia U20s, unbelievably turning around a loss from just a few months prior, into a massive victory.
If anyone was wondering whether that was just an aberration, they should have had those worries washed away by a superb follow up performance against one of the pre-tournament favourites.
Heading into the competition, France and England were clear favourites, due to the English being defending champs, while the French pipped them to the 2025 U20 Six Nations title.
It would have been hard to pick who was more favoured as, despite France having won the previous three U20 World Championship titles before last year, England had won their last two games against the French, 21-13 in last year's final and 27-10 in this year's Six Nations, before slipping up against Wales.
Hat in ring
But the Junior Boks have firmly thrown their hat right in the ring now, and should have no trouble securing their place in the competition semifinals, with them just needing a win over Scotland in their final pool match on Wednesday.
The Scots have struggled in the world champs so far, going down 56-19 to England and 34-24 to Australia, but despite this Bok coach Kevin Foote believes they can't be underestimated.
'We'll take a lot of confidence from this victory (against England), but Scotland are a good side. They ran England close in the Six Nations, and we certainly will not underestimate any team ever. We'll keep our feet on the ground and focus on the next job,' said Foote.
Junior Bok captain Riley Norton, who also tempered expectations after their monster win over Australia, was again measured in his praise after the England win, explaining that the job was far from over for his team.
'We're out here giving everything for our country and we're all very proud of the win, but we're still building, and we'll take massive confidence from this game,' said Norton.
'To be honest, it's not quite sunk in yet (their performances). We will celebrate, but then we go again. Next up is Scotland and we have the bigger picture in mind, so we're very excited for the next three games.'
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