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IOL News
06-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Junior Springboks fall to Australia Under-20s in thrilling Rugby Championship clash
The Junior Springboks matchday 23 that will face Australia in Gqeberha on Tuesday. Photo: SA Junior Rugby on X Image: Photo: SA Junior Rugby on X The Junior Springboks were unable to cope with a second-half onslaught from the Australia Under-20 side as they went down 29-24 in their second match of the Rugby Championship Under-20 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Tuesday afternoon. The SA U20s managed to fight back and grab a 36-25 win in the opening round on Thursday. This time, they led at the break before surrendering the lead in the second half to a Junior Wallabies team that drew with New Zealand U20s in their opener. A composed and clinical first half from the #JuniorBoks at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. #TRCU20 #JourneyToGreatness — SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) May 6, 2025 The Junior Springboks stole the first line-out ball and were playing with early intensity, with powerful runner Batho Hlekani prominent. They earned a penalty a few phases later and found touch close to the Aussie tryline. The line-out was perfectly executed and the SA U20s rumbled over the line and loose forward Xola Nyali dotted down. Flyhalf Vusi Moyo added the extra two points (7-0). The Australians slowly started to gain a foothold in the match and were patient as they built some phases. But the Junior Boks maintained their defensive composure and the pressure led to some errors from the visitors. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading A big positive for the Baby Boks was their strong work in the scrums and line-outs. The Junior Wallabies were warned about repeated infringements at the breakdown as the penalty count mounted in South Africa's favour. The Australians were still struggling to cope with the power of the South African pack in the scrums. Errors, however, started to creep into South Africa's play, and the Junior Wallabies began to win the territorial battle. But they were also let down by errors at crucial times. South Africa then got a lucky break when Ndlozi pounced on a loose pass in midfield to sprint clear and score the second try of the match, against the run of play. Moyo landed the conversion to extend the Baby Boks' lead to 14-0. South Africa's defence was perfectly organised as they snuffed out any danger posed by their rivals. Trevor King of Australia was shown yellow for a scrum infringement in the Baby Boks' 22. Nyali thought he had scored his second try after another rolling maul off the line-out but it was ruled out by the the TMO. The score remained 14-0 at the break. SA pounced on another Australian mistake despite a promising start to the second half. SA drove the ball up into the Australian half and were awarded a penalty, which Moyo landed (17-0). The Junior Wallabies finally got on the scoreboard off a maul of their own from the line-out six minutes into the second half, skipper Eoman Doyle going over the whitewash. Sid Harvey kicked the conversion (14-7). SA were strangely subdued in the second half. The Australians made the most of a line-out feed before sucking in the SA defence, allowing Edwin Langi in to score. Harvey kicked the conversion. The Junior Wallabies had their tails up and their forwards again punched holes in the SA defensive lines, with Lipina Ata scoring the try. Harvey was on target with the boot as Australia took a 21-17 lead. The Junior Boks had work to do. Round 2 of #TRCU20 saw New Zealand pile on the points and Australia claim a hard-earned win at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. #JourneyToGreatness — SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) May 6, 2025
TimesLIVE
06-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Australia stage stunning fightback to down Junior Boks
Australia produced a stunning second-half fightback to beat a shell-shocked Junior Bok team 29-24 in a thrilling Under-20 Rugby Championship clash in Gqeberha on Tuesday. When the Boks moved into a commanding 17-0 shortly after half time, they appeared to be in the driving seat against the Australians at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. The resolute Australians, however, had other ideas and moved through the gears, scoring four second-half tries to win their first game at the tournament after a draw against New Zealand in the opening round. Australian fullback Sid Harvey put the game out of South Africa's reach when he kicked a penalty in the 75th minute. The Boks refused to lie down and burly loose forward Batho Hlekani gave his team a glimmer of hope with a late try in the 78th. However, it was too little, too late, and the Australians hung on to clinch a nail-biting win over their old rivals. In Australia's sensational revival, Eamon Doyle, Edwin Langi, Lapina Ata and Xavier Rubens all went over for tries to leave the Boks reeling. Next up for the Boks is a showdown on Sunday against arch-rivals New Zealand, who trounced Argentina in the early game of Tuesday's double header. The Boks came flying out of the starting blocks in the first half and were rewarded for their dominance when loose forward Xola Nyali powered his way over the Australian line. Flyhalf Vusi Moyo slotted the conversion to put South Africa ahead 7-0 after two minutes, thanks to an energetic start that left Australia on the back foot. After the frenetic early action, the game lost momentum with both teams struggling with their accuracy and handling. The game burst back into life in the 28th minute when Bok speedster Siya Ndlozi pounced on an Australian error to score a breakaway try against the run of play. Australia were under pressure in the 34th minute when they were reduced to 14 men after Argentinian referee Thomas Bartazza yellow-carded prop Trevor King for repeated scrum infringements. The Junior Boks threatened to score a third try just before half time but a promising attack ended after a handling error close to the Australian try line. Shortly afterwards, a bustling Nyali thought he had a second try, but it was disallowed because of a line-out obstruction. Two minutes after the break the Boks extended their lead to 17-0 when Moyo kicked a penalty to give his team extra breathing space. Australia were gaining momentum and scored a try in the 46th when lock Doyle burst through the Bok defence after a line-out maul. In the first game of the day, New Zealand crushed Argentina 75-21 after they were held to a dramatic draw by Australia in their opening game last week. Thanks to a dominant all-round display, the New Zealanders outscored their opponents by 11 tries to three in a lopsided encounter.
The Citizen
05-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Kevin Foote rejigs Junior Boks for Aussie revenge
Sharks forward Batho Hlekani and Stormers flyer JC Mars start in a new-look Junior Springboks lineup against Australia in their second clash of the 2025 U20 Rugby Championship tomorrow. Head coach Kevin Foote has made several rotational changes to his starting XV and included four players who played for the SA U20s last year for the match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha. The Junior Boks beat Argentina in their opener last week, while Australia forced a late draw against New Zealand, scoring the equalising try after the hooter had sounded. It is the second match of a double-header at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, following the clash between the defending champions New Zealand and Argentina. The Australians got the better of their South African U20 rivals last year in the inaugural tournament Down Under, where a brace of tries from Lili Bester, a JF van Heerden touchdown and two Thurlo Williams conversions weren't enough for the Junior Boks to avoid a 24-19 defeat. Foote has also handed starts to Wandile Mlaba and Herman Lubbe, both of whom played for the Junior Boks in 2024. 'We play three internationals against quality teams in just 11 days, and with the short turnaround time between matches, we must be smart with our player load management,' he said. PLUS: Siya looks up to Boks of the future 'We have good squad depth and it's important for the players to get a taste of international rugby, while we also want to build on our performance against Argentina, knowing that Australia will pose a huge challenge for us.' Lubbe and Simphiwe Ngobese will pack down either side of hooker Juandre Schoeman. Riley Norton is retained at lock and will captain the team again, partnering with Morne Venter. The back row sees Xola Nyali, who had a successful campaign with Varsity Cup champions UCT, running out at openside flanker. He teams up with Hlekani, who made a strong impact off the bench in the second half against Los Pumitas, while Mlaba is retained at No 8. In the backline, there is a new halfback pairing consisting of scrumhalf Ceano Everson and flyhalf Vusi Moyo, Dominic Malgas and Scott Nel link up in the midfield, while speedster Cheswill Jooste is joined in the back three by fullback Mars and left winger Siya Ndlozi. 'It's a nice match 23 with lots of exciting players and speed amongst the backs, complemented by a big and physical forward pack, and we are looking forward to the game,' said Foote. 'We see Australia as a massive threat with their ball movement and how they play with width, and we expect they will have some special structured set pieces with lineouts and scrums.' Junior Springboks: 15 JC Mars, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Scott Nel, 12 Dominic Malgas, 11 Siya Ndlozi, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Ceano Everson, 8 Wandile Mlaba, 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Xola Nyali, 5 JJ Theron, 4 Riley Norton (c), 3 Herman Lubbe, 2 Juandre Schoeman, 1 Simphiwe Ngobese. Bench: 16 HB Odendaal, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Jean Erasmus, 19 Neil Hansen, 20 Thando Biyela, 21 Elrich Visser, 22 Kyle Smith, 23 Gino Cupido. U20 Rugby Championship fixtures (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium): Tuesday, May 6 14:00: New Zealand vs Argentina 16:10: Junior Boks vs Australia Sunday, May 11 14:00: Argentina vs Australia 16:10: Junior Boks vs New Zealand The post Foote rejigs Junior Boks for Aussie revenge appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.
