Lessons learned: Junior Springboks eye redemption following narrow losses in Rugby Championship U20

Ball carrier Morne Venter of South Africa with Jai Tamati of New Zealand during the U20 Rugby Championship match between Junior Springboks and New Zealand at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on May 11, 2025 in Gqeberha, South Africa. (Photo by Richard Huggard/Gallo Images)

By Keanan Hemmonsbey

12 May 2025

The South Africa under-20 rugby side have failed at the annual southern hemisphere tournament again, this time on home soil.

The Junior Springboks’ tightly contested and highly entertaining 48-45 loss to the Baby Blacks on Sunday means they ended the Rugby Championship U20 in third place, behind Champions New Zealand and Australia.

It’s the second consecutive loss the Junior Boks suffered, having lost 29-24 to the Junior Wallabies five days earlier. In the opening round they had to come from behind to beat Argentina 36-25 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, where all the matches in the competition took place.

Last year the Junior Boks finished second, when the inaugural tournament was held in the Sunshine Coast in Australia.

They were also beaten by Australia then while drawing with New Zealand and beating Argentina.

Both of South Africa’s defeats this year came after initially opening up a substantial lead and then allowing the Australasian sides back into the contest. Against Australia, the Junior Boks held a 17-0 lead shortly after halftime before the Junior Wallabies clawed their way back.

Similarly, South Africa scored three tries in the first 15 minutes to take a 19-0 lead against New Zealand only to see the deficit reduced to two points by halftime as the home team led 26-24.

While the Junior Springboks’ results have disappointed home supporters who have seen this edition of the team run out for the first time over the past two weeks, head coach Kevin Foote has said the Rugby Championship U20 was just part of the journey. The destination is the Under-20 World Championship, which gets under way at the end of June in Italy.

“There are a lot of positives to take from that performance,” Foote said.

“We are on a massive journey together and I only met (captain) Riley Norton and the guys back in November, so we are definitely working hard on our game model and principles, which everyone understands now.

“From a character and leadership perspective, we are in a good place, and the lessons we learnt will be of huge benefit as we approach the U20 Championship next month in Italy.”

High scoring

The Junior Springboks were entertaining with ball in hand, scoring 14 tries across the three matches with Foote crediting young attack coach Melusi Mthethwa. South Africa’s set piece got better as the tournament went on, but soft shoulders in defence let in more points than scored.

“I think Melusi [Mthethwa] has done a great job in terms of our attack, and I really feel that the players have clarity on how we want to play,” Foote said.

“We played some exciting and brilliant attacking rugby during the tournament, and just to hear the crowd get behind us when we started to light it up was exceptional.

“We know we are not the finished product, and we know we have a lot of work to do, but I do think our attack has come a long way and the guys are loving the way we are attacking.”

Junior Bok Wandile Mlaba is brought to ground during their World Rugby U20 Championship match against New Zealand. (Photo: Richard Huggard / Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Ball carrier Morne Venter of South Africa faces Jai Tamati of New Zealand in Gqeberha, South Africa. (Photo: Richard Huggard / Gallo Images)

Enforcer lock and captain of the junior side Riley Norton, like Foote, sees the tournament as a stepping-stone for the Under-20 World Championships.

“To have played these high-pressure games against such quality opposition before the World Champs is going to be vital for us,” he said.

“The lessons we learnt, the connections and relationships we have managed to build, not only on the field but off-field as well, and the trust we managed to create, are extremely important to us.”

In order to ensure the players remain sharp and in top condition in the 50 days before the World Championship kicks off, Foote will be sending a number of players back to their unions to play in the ongoing Under-21 Cup competition.

“We will take it case by case, but some players will go back to their provinces to play in the U21 competition,” he said.

“It’s a strong competition and the players are well coached there, and we are keen for them to keep going. There will be some whose load we will have to manage, but we will do our medicals and take it case by case.”

The last time South Africa won the Junior World Championship was more than a decade ago in 2014, and they have only made the final four twice in the 11 years since.

Last year, a strong Junior Boks side finished fifth overall. With a new coaching structure this year and the second year of the Under-20 Rugby Championship, more is expected from the national junior side. DM

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High scoring