Despite a 45-minute delay in the match, the Junior Springboks managed to defeat France 16-5 in the U20 Rugby World Cup final, which took place in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Saturday evening.
The Junior Boks retained their title by securing a tense victory over the French team. This win extended their unbeaten streak in the tournament to 11 games and marked their first victory over Les Bleus since 2019.
This success marks the first time South Africa has combined victories in two consecutive senior World Cup tournaments with two consecutive junior titles. This brings them closer to France's record of three consecutive junior world cup championships.
Earlier on Saturday, the Springboks had beaten Wales. Early in the game, Yakin Ahmed calmed nerves by converting a penalty in the eighth minute. However, the slippery pitch made the first half a battle full of errors.
During the match, France attempted to score through Romeo Bonnard Martin, but the goal was disallowed due to an infringement by South African fullback Alzeadon Felix. Ahmed then doubled the lead by converting a long-range penalty in the final minutes of the first half, allowing them to go into halftime with a 6-0 advantage.
The French were able to respond six minutes into the second half when Raphael Odebert went out of bounds, narrowing the gap to 6-5. Tension mounted when Samuel Badenhorst saw a South African touchdown disallowed for ball contact, but the breakthrough came in the 66th minute.
Marcus Müller, using a powerful maul, chose an excellent trajectory and managed to break through for a try, which Ahmed converted. Towards the end of the match, attempts by Cheswell Joste and Ahmed were rejected by the referees, but a decisive penalty from Ahmed for a high tackle secured a memorable and very hard-fought victory for the Junior Boks.
The Springboks demonstrated that tactical versatility is their main advantage, having been forced to make a significant change in the defensive line during the game against Scotland at Loftus Stadium on Saturday.
The 6-2 substitution system implemented by the Springboks bench was closely analyzed. In particular, coach Bok, Rassie Erasmus, selected only two versatile backline players—Grant Williams and Juan Corn. Corn's previous experience playing against the Barbarians at position No. 10 proved very successful, as the 25-year-old player managed to take up this position in the later stages of the 42-28 victory match.
Due to the injury of Ethan Hooker and the need to make changes to the squad, Erasmus was forced to adjust the defensive line. Starting fullback Afelele Fassi moved to the winger position, and Damian Willemse shifted from the centre to position No. 15. Furthermore, match player Handre Pollard took the place of the inside centre.
These changes allowed Corn to play at position No. 10 for a significant part of the second half. According to Erasmus, this experience will be useful because he threw Corn into the heart of a tense confrontation with a determined opponent aiming for a sensation. After the game, Corn noted that this experience will help his development thanks to the support of World Cup double winner Handre Pollard.
Corn shared his impressions: 'It was a great experience. We discussed the positions I needed to cover for a week, and I was ready for the challenge. I want to thank Handre. He made me feel very comfortable today. He makes everything so easy in the first half, and then I could perform my best.'
He continued, emphasizing Pollard's influence: 'It's Handre Pollard. He brings a lot of confidence onto the field. He is smart and clever. Every step on the field with him brings calmness. He talked to me about the options we had, which helped.'
Although Corn's preferred position is fullback, his transformation into a versatile player capable of playing as a playmaker (pivot) and covering the winger position if necessary could be key to his future success in the Green and Gold national team. Corn fully understands his task, stating: 'Everyone knows these days that if you can cover more than one position, it is good for your arsenal. It will be better for you as a player. If I can cover the flanker and fullback position for the Springboks, it will only be good for me.'
The Springboks team managed to secure a tense and exciting victory over Scotland with a score of 42-28 in the Rugby World Cup match, which took place on Saturday at the Loftus Versfeld stadium.
The game started with a level score of 14-14 at halftime. After this, the Springboks had to exert significant effort to overcome the opponent's experimental approach and take the lead against the dangerous and motivated Scottish team.
In the first twenty minutes of the match, Enbrooze Papier and Evan Roos helped the Springboks gain an early advantage of 14-0. However, the highly motivated visitors were able to respond with goals from Matt Fagerson and Kyle Row. The conversions were executed by Handre Pollard and Finn Russell.
In the 41st minute, Ben-Jason Dixon received a card for a dangerous play, but the Springboks team avoided penalties that could have affected the score. The second half of the match began with Elryke Low opening the scoring for the Springboks in the 58th minute, with Pollard converting. Shortly after, Damian Willemse scored the team's fourth try, again converted by the starting ten of the Springboks.
Subsequently, prop Zachary Potten scored his first try. The Scots, represented by Josh Bailiss and Ben White, managed to narrow the gap, leading to tense final ten minutes at Loftus, when the score stood at 35-28.
The Springboks cemented their victory when Jesse Kriel scored a try in the 78th minute, and substitute utility back Juan Horn converted it.
The starting fifteen-man squad for the Springboks included: 15 Afelele Fassie; 14 Edwin van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Ethan Hooker; 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Enbrooze Papier; 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit 6, Paul de Villiers, 5 Roan Nortje, 4 Kobus Wieße, 3 Wilko Lou, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Boan Venter. Reserves included: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessele, 17 Ntutuko Mchunu, 18 Zach Potten, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Vincent Tsituka, 21 Elryke Low, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Juan Horn.
The starting lineup for Scotland consisted of: 15 Kyle Row; 14 Kyle Stein, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Sionne Tuipulotu, 11 Jamie Dobie; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White; 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson; 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Gregor Brown; 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Yoan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoman. Reserves were: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Heard, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Josh Bailiss, 21 Magnus Bradbury, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Stafford McDowell.
