The Junior Springboks, under the leadership of head coach Kevin Foote, ended a 13-year wait to reclaim the global Under-20 crown with a 23-15 victory over the Junior All Blacks in the summer heat of Rovigo on Saturday.
The Junior Springboks last won the title in 2012 with a home victory over the same opponents in Cape Town, but had had a long wait for a repeat success having not appeared in another final since 2014.
This time the team showed great composure in cruising to the final with commanding victories over Australia (73-12), England (32-22) and Scotland (73-14) in the pool stages, and Argentina (48-24) in the semi-final.
They led in the final from the third minute and tries by Xola Nyali and Gilermo Mentoe, as well as 13 points from the boot of Vusi Moyo, secured a famous victory.
Moyo finished the tournament as the top points’ scorer with 63, while Haashim Pead scored six tries, placing him second for the most five-pointers behind Georgia’s Mikheili Shioshvili (7).
Junior Springboks return to Mzansi as latest SA champions
On Monday, the team returned to South Africa, and received an understandably warm welcome by cheering fans and Mark Alexander, president of the South African Rugby Union.
“This is a very proud day for rugby in South Africa, and I would like to congratulate Kevin and the team on an outstanding performance in the tournament,” said Mr Alexander.
“The group have been welded into a formidable unit over the course of this year and many of them have the potential to go on to higher honours, I am sure.
“Their victory is a tribute to all the hard work done at high school level by educators and coaches, and at our provincial unions from whom these players are drawn.
“Appointing a head coach in Kevin, who has franchise experience, was also an important part of the progress this group have shown, and I would like to commend him, his backroom team, and the High Performance Department at SA Rugby for what they have achieved in such a short space of time.
“I’d also like to thank our sponsors who have come on board to partner the Junior Boks and with whom we are delighted to share in their success.”
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