TBILISI. – Junior Springbok assistant coach Lumumba Currie says the defending champions still have plenty to sharpen up before their Junior Boks semi-final against England in Tbilisi on Monday, despite an unbeaten run through the pool stages of the Junior World Championship.
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Junior Boks top Pool A with maximum points
The Junior Boks completed their Pool A campaign on Tuesday evening with a 52-33 win over Wales, taking maximum points from their three group matches and finishing top of the standings with a tournament-leading points difference of plus 144. The SA U20s scored 189 points and crossed for 29 tries against Uruguay, Georgia and Wales.
Echoing SA U20 head coach Kevin Foote’s comments after the Welsh game, Currie said topping the pool was the primary objective coming into the tournament.
“We are very pleased that we’ve come through the group stages,” Currie said. “In a competition like this, the first goal is to win your pool, and we’ve managed to do that successfully. The Wales game was effectively a pool decider, with us just one point apart, and it was important for us to get the job done.”
He credited a strong forward platform for the run of results.
“Our pack has taken us forward throughout the tournament and managed to give us momentum in all three matches,” he said. “Defensively we’ve done some good things as well, but there are areas we need to focus because soft moments can hurt you in this competition, where the format is unforgiving.”
The side’s ability to recover from adversity has also pleased the coaching staff. Against Wales the Junior Boks trailed 14-0 after the opening 11 minutes before responding with eight tries, five of which came off successful lineout mauls. That win followed earlier victories over Uruguay (104-7) and hosts Georgia (33-5), with the Georgians also dominating the early stages before the SA U20s hit their straps.
Junior Boks semi-final against a familiar rival
Currie said the squad knows there is work to be done before facing England.
“We hold ourselves to very high standards,” he said. “Even though we scored more than 50 points, we felt we left more points on the field because of opportunities we didn’t finish. That’s the reality of knockout rugby: when you create chances, you need to take them.”
“We have a number of young players who are still growing in the game, and tournaments like this are invaluable for their development.”
England reached the last four unbeaten and topped Pool C with wins over Ireland (34-27), the USA (68-40) and Argentina (40-38), also finishing on a full complement of 15 log points.
“England are a world-class side,” Currie said. “We’ve had some excellent battles against them over the years and whenever you play England the intensity and execution go to another level.”
Semi-final kick-off times
The other semi-final features France and New Zealand, meaning the four most successful nations in tournament history have reached the final four. France and New Zealand kick off at 16h00 South African time at the Avchala Stadium, followed by the Junior Boks and England U20 at 18h30. Both matches are live on SuperSport. Further tournament details are available at www.sarugby.co.za.
