The Junior Springboks have ticked the first box at the World Rugby U20 Championship. The second promises to be far tougher.
Kevin Foote’s side booked their place in Monday’s semi-final against England after completing an unbeaten Pool A campaign with a hard-earned 52-33 victory over Wales in Tbilisi. Three bonus-point wins from three matches tell only part of the story.
Reaction from Kevin Foote: “We were a little bit passive in the beginning, but once we got into the game and built some momentum, I thought we created some really good try-scoring opportunities” – more here: https://t.co/ilnlWI0fJW 🗣️#JuniorBoks #JourneyToGreatness… pic.twitter.com/GwloBZeMJW
— SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) July 7, 2026
The final pool clash exposed both the strengths and shortcomings of a South African side that appears to be maturing at exactly the right time.
A sluggish start left the Junior Boks chasing shadows as Wales raced into a 14-0 lead after 11 minutes. Instead of folding, South Africa settled into their work, trusted their attacking systems and gradually squeezed the life out of the contest.
By half-time they had turned the game on its head. By full-time they had underlined why they remain among the favourites to lift the trophy.
Foote was encouraged by the composure his players showed after the early wobble.
“We were a little bit passive in the beginning,” he said.
“But once we got into the game and built some momentum, I thought we created some really good try-scoring opportunities. There was a lot of attacking intent and the players showed good composure to take control of the match.”
South Africa’s forwards recovered well after conceding a handful of scrum penalties, providing the platform for an increasingly confident backline to stretch the Welsh defence.
Foote, though, knows sentiment counts for little in knockout rugby.
Defensive lapses and turnovers remain on his review list before England, one of the tournament’s most clinical teams, arrive in the semi-finals.
“From a defensive perspective and in terms of ball retention, there are definitely things we need to work on,” he said.
“We’ll review the game, look closely at some of the turnovers and make sure we’re sharper going into the semis.”
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South Africa finished top of Pool A with a maximum 15 points after collecting bonus-point victories in every outing, a feat matched only by New Zealand.
England present a different proposition altogether.
Their structured game, physical pack and clinical finishing will demand South Africa’s best performance of the tournament. The Junior Boks, however, have built valuable momentum and appear to be playing with growing confidence every time they take the field.
“We’ve achieved our first objective by coming through the pool stages,” Foote said.
“Some of these players have experienced knockout rugby at this tournament before, so we’ll draw on that experience and look forward to the challenge.”
The semi-finals are scheduled for Monday, 13 July, both at the Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi. New Zealand take on France at 16h00, and the Junior Boks’ clash against England kicks off at 18h30 (SA time).
