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The South African
06-05-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Junior Springboks lose to Australia, All Blacks thrash Pumas
Australia Under-20 overturned a 17 point deficit in a tactically astute second half performance to beat the Junior Springboks by 29-24 in their second round Rugby Championship U20 match on Tuesday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha. In what was a game of two halves, the Aussies did very well to dominate the territorial game after the break as they grew in confidence, while the Junior Boks failed to capitalise on their opportunities, especially in the first half. The Junior Boks, who led by 14-0 at the break, started like a house on fire, with Xola Nyali (flanker) scoring a maul try in the third minute. Vusi Moyo (flyhalf) converted from the sideline to give the hosts a 7-0. The Australians were under pressure in the scrums and lineouts, while the Junior Springboks ran with intent and put in some big hits when their opponents had the ball, but they made silly mistakes and failed to turn this into points, allowing the men in gold to work their way back into the game. Australia capitalised from a few lineout throws that weren't straight and turned over possession on the ground a few times, but the Junior Boks' defence held firm, keeping the pressure on their opponents. This pressure finally reaped rewards as Siya Ndlozi (wing) scored an intercept try just before the half-hour mark, showing great pace to beat the cover defence. Moyo converted and 14-0 was a fair reflection of play at that stage. The Junior Boks' scrum ascendancy continued to such an extent that Australia lost Trevor King (prop) to the sin bin for repeated infringements. With the clock into the red in the first half, the Junior Boks launched one last maul attack, but after Nyali went over, the try was disallowed by the TMO for obstruction at the lineout. Moyo made it 17-0 with an early penalty goal in the second half, but Australia grew in confidence and as their passes started to stick, they forced the Junior Boks onto the backfoot. Three tries in 15 minutes swung the game in favour of the Aussies, with Eamon Doyle (lock), Edwin Langi (replacement prop) and Lipina Ata (replacement hooker) crossing for the visitors. Sid Harvey (fullback) converted all three and with just under 20 minutes to go, Australia took a 21-17 lead, somewhat against the run of play, although they deserve credit for putting the Junior Bok defence under pressure, with their tactical kicking game also helping their cause. Attacking with confidence, the Aussies crossed for what looked to be a great try by Nick Conway (wing), only to be denied by a superb cover tackle by Cheswill Jooste. Two minutes later, Conway again made lots of ground down the left, but this time his inside pass found Xavier Rubens (centre), who scored Australia's fourth try to make it a nine-point game with 10 minutes on the clock. When Harvey landed a penalty goal five minutes later, it was game over for the Junior Boks, despite a good try by Batho Hlekani to give South Africa a losing bonus point. Meanwhile, in the first game on Tuesday, New Zealand were in impressive form as they scored a bonus-point 75-21 victory over Argentina's Pumitas, crossing the tryline 11 times and slotting 10 conversions, while only conceding three tries. After two rounds, New Zealand lead the standings with seven points, followed by Australia on six, South Africa on five and Argentina on zero. On Sunday, the Aussies and Pumitas cross swords at 14:00, while the final match is at 16:10 between the Junior Boks and the Kiwis. Junior Springboks Tries: Xola Nyali, Siya Ndlozi, Batho Hlekani Conversions: Vusi Moyo (2), Kyle Smith Penalty: Moyo Australia Tries: Eamon Doyle, Edwin Langi, Lipina Ata, Xavier Rubens Conversions: Sid Harvey (3) Penalty: Harvey Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
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
The Citizen
06-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Junior Boks shocked by Australia in U20 Rugby Championship
The men from Down Under scored four second half tries to rock the South Africans. Australia scored four second half tries to turn around a 17-0 deficit to win 29-24 against the Junior Springboks in their U20 Rugby Championship match in Gqeberha on Tuesday afternoon. It was a well-deserved win by the Australians who dominated much of the contest, but couldn't convert their chances in the first half. In the second half they completely got the better of their hosts and could well have scored more than the four tries they did. Good first half by Junior Boks South Africa though got off to a great start, with plenty of possession coming their way and they were rewarded in the third minute when flanker Xola Nyali went over from a lineout win and driving maul. But, Australia dominated much of the rest of the play in the first half, winning plenty of ball and penalties at the breakdowns and asking much of the South Africans' defence. The home team also struggled in the lineouts. The only department where Riley Norton's team dominated was the scrums. But, against the run of play, the Junior Boks scored a second try in the 28th minute by wing Siya Ndlozi, who picked up a loose ball in the Australian backline and ran in from 50m out. Things got worse for the men from Down Under as they lost prop Trevor King to the sin-bin and then on the stroke of half-time Nyali went in for his second try, only for it to be chalked off after an intervention by the TMO. Relief for the Aussies. Aussies fight back South Africa though went 17-0 up soon after half-time with a penalty kick and looked to be well in charge of the clash, but in a matter of 16 minutes, Australia scored three converted tries to rock the Junior Boks. First lock Eamon Doyle went in from a lineout drive, then prop Edwin Langi went over from close range, before prop Lipina Ata scored after some excellent play by his team-mates. Australia had gone from 17-0 down to lead 21-17 … and a few minutes later centre Xavier Rubens went in for his team's fourth try in the second half to see his team into a 26-17 lead. A penalty for the Aussies with five minutes to play put them 29-17 up, but the Baby Boks hit back with two minutes to play with a converted try by flanker Batho Hlekani to close to within five points, but the game ended soon after the restart for a good win by the Aussies.
