Brilliant Junior Boks claim first U20 World title in 13 years
South Africa's Under-20s were deservedly crowned world champions in northern Italy on Saturday night thanks to a gritty win over old rivals New Zealand in the final on a sweltering evening.
It was the first time since 2012 that the Junior Boks have won the world title and only the second time in this format since it was inaugurated in 2008.
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As under-21s the Junior Boks won the 1999, 2002 and 2005 world championships (1999 was technically not a world title), but since becoming an U20 event, it was only the class of 2012 that were victorious – until Saturday.
The class of 2025 now joins the likes of Handrè Pollard, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Steven Kitshoff from that 2012 crop as world champions.
After laying waste to all their previous opponents in three pool-stage matches, and Argentina in the semifinals, the contest against the Baby Blacks was much closer.
It was an uncompromising battle in the greatest traditions of clashes between these two archrivals and was a fitting finale to a tournament of high quality.
This was not the same free-flowing performance of the pool stages that saw the Junior Boks score 178 points in three games against Australia, England and Scotland. It could never be against opponents as skilful and proud as New Zealand.
The Junior Boks though, under the captaincy of lock Riley Norton and the coaching of Kevin Foote, are littered with generational talent that should strike fear into the rugby world.
'I'm quite emotional, but I'm just so proud,' Norton said after the match.
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'The amount of work that we put in after not a great TRC (U20 Rugby Championship), our backs were against the wall and we just came out and gave it everything.
'The group is unbelievable, the management, the coaches – we all pulled into a common idea. It wasn't easy at times. This is the greatest day of my life.
'We had to show up physically. That's our DNA. That's where we South Africans get our passion and our energy from. The set-phase, the maul, the scrum, the hits – the guys did that for 80 minutes and that's where we get our DNA from. Of course (Vusi) Moyo with his unbelievable boot always putting us on the front foot and kicking those penalties, it's just unbelievable.'
Control
They were always in control at Stadio Mario Battaglini in Rovigo, from scoring early to adding the final flourish late in the game.
The Junior Bok pack dominated scrums, were strong in contact and laid a good foundation for the excellent halfback duo of Haashim Pead and Moyo to operate.
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South Africa opened the scoring in the third minute when flank Xola Nyali went over for a try from close range.
Moyo converted from wide out to give the Junior Boks the perfect start on a humid and slippery evening.
From that stage on New Zealand were always playing catch-up and although they struck back with a try from lock Jayden Sa from a rolling maul just minutes later, it was as close as they came to the lead for the entire match.
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New Zealand also lost prop Sika Pole to the sin bin in the 22nd minute when he clattered into Junior Bok lock JJ Theron. It was later upgraded to red on review.
At this tournament though, red cards are only 20 minutes and New Zealand were able to introduce a replacement soon after halftime.
South Africa also had their own disciplinary issues. Ten minutes after Pole's card, Junior Bok centre Albie Bester was yellow-carded for a dangerous cleanout at a ruck.
That evened things out as Moyo added two first-half penalties to give the Junior Boks a 13-5 halftime lead.
There were two periods in either half when the Junior Boks were forced to defend their line for multiple phases. In fact, they were pinned in their 22m area for a full five minutes at the start of the second period as they repelled wave after wave of New Zealand attacks.
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In the end it only cost them three points from a second penalty by flyhalf Rico Simpson which shrunk the lead to 13-8. It was a moral victory for the Junior Boks.
'Defence is all about character, and there were moments when New Zealand were right on our line, but we held firm,' Foote said after the match.
'From a coach's perspective, you can't ask for more than that. It was a real South African defensive effort and gees (spirit) that won it for us today.'
Foote, who took over as Junior Bok head coach at the end of last year, also described his winning squad as a special group of young rugby players.
'I love our country and the Springboks, and I love working with this age group,' he said.
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'To see these young men grow from training in December to what they've achieved now is amazing. Being on this journey with them has been incredibly special, and I'll never take it for granted.'
Soon after though, Moyo's superb boot landed a third penalty to keep the Baby Blacks two scores behind. That was significant.
As the game wore on South Africa increasingly exerted control. Pead went over for a try but it was disallowed due to Junior Bok flank Batho Hlekani pulling New Zealand scrumhalf Dylan Pledger back, denying him the chance to make a tackle on Pead.
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Despite that let-off, the Junior Boks camped inside NZ territory for much of the last quarter and it was Pead who stamped his class on proceedings to finally break the Baby Blacks' resistance.
Pead stabbed through a perfectly weighted kick for fullback Gilermo Mentoe to race on to and score the game-defining try with only three minutes remaining. The Junior Boks led 23-8. There was no way back.
New Zealand scored a consolation try almost from the restart when impressive wing Maloni Kunawave finished, but it was too little, too late for the New Zealanders.
Bigger picture
Foote deserves special praise because he meticulously planned the team's progress to peak in Italy.
It came at a cost though because the Junior Boks lost two of their three U20 Rugby Championship matches hosted in South Africa in May.
One of those defeats was a 48-45 loss to New Zealand and the other was a 29-24 setback to Australia.
In the opening game of this tournament, the Junior Boks smashed Australia 73-17.
They played nine games in all before this tournament, which was crucial to building cohesion and for players to understand their roles.
'We learnt a lot about our leadership group in the U20 Rugby Championship,' Foote told Daily Maverick.
'We learnt about who can play Test match rugby. We learnt about different attacking styles that we haven't seen.
'For example, New Zealand 'stack-attacked' against us, and coming into this World Cup, Australia, England and Scotland all stacked, and we've defended well against that.
'That improvement comes from what we went through in the Rugby Championship. It has been a great learning process.
'But the biggest thing is actually just giving these guys game time together, and the synergy and cohesion that we got from those games is invaluable.'
The introduction of the U20 Rugby Championship has been a significant building block, not only for the Junior Boks, but for all the southern hemisphere teams.
New Zealand made their first final in six years, Argentina beat France to secure the bronze medal and Australia scored 68 points to claim fifth spot over England. DM
Junior Bok results:
Pool stage:
South Africa 73 – 17 Australia (29 June – Calvisano)
South Africa 32 – 22 England (4 July – Rovigo)
South Africa 73 – 14 Scotland (9 July – Calvisano)
Semifinal:
South Africa 48 – 24 Argentina (14 July – Viadana)
Final:
South Africa 23 – 15 New Zealand (19 July – Rovigo)
Final standings:
South Africa (Champions)
New Zealand (Runners-up)
Argentina (Third place)
France (Fourth place)
Australia (Fifth place)
England (Sixth place)
Italy (Seventh place)
Wales (Eighth place)
Georgia (Ninth place)
Scotland (10th place)
Ireland (11th place)
Spain (12th place).
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