The Junior Springboks are fully aware of what is at stake when they meet Ireland in the World Rugby U20 Championship semifinals at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Sunday, but according to SA U20 captain Paul de Villiers, there are no external pressures on them to advance to the final next Friday.
“Rather,” said the flanker, “it is internal pressure. We want to do well as a squad, and we want to be the best team we can be.”
The pressure of the knock-out nature of the game is not something that bothers the squad, as they were in the same situation on Tuesday when they had to beat Argentina in their final pool match, De Villiers said.
“That match was a quarterfinal for us, we had to win to advance,” he said.
“Same here on Sunday, so we are not approaching it any differently. We just need to make sure we are ahead when the final whistle goes, even if it is 3-0.”
Both De Villiers and vice-captain Katlego Letebele played against Ireland last year in Italy, where South Africa won 33-24 in the Six Nations U20 Summer Series.
“It is not quite the same Irish team, but what I know we will encounter is a very structured and disciplined team,” said De Villiers.
“They love to spread to the wide from side to side and have good set plays on attack. They will also be fit.
“For us to be successful against them will require our best effort. We need to make sure our defence is top class and disrupt them and we need to finish the opportunities we create. We need to start the match better than so far in the tournament as well.”
The Junior Springboks have been vulnerable at the start of matches, conceding 37% of their points in the first quarter. They have conceded more penalties than any other team (42) at an average of 14 per game.
“We did have a good chat about that, and I am confident that we have sorted out those problems,” said De Villiers.
“We played against three very forward orientated teams and did not adapt that well, while Ireland plays a more rounded game, more the same style we have, so I think it is going to be an entertaining match from that perspective.”
De Villiers is excited about the fact that the Athlone Stadium crowd will be supporting them: “They came out in numbers to support us after we lost against Italy and that meant so much to the team to see that. This time around, we are playing for a place in the final and I know they will be backing us all the way.”
South Africa have won three and lost one of their previous four World Rugby U20 Championship matches against Ireland U20 (average score 37-20) and won last year’s fixture, but they will be mindful that the sole win (23-19) by the Irish came in 2012, when they played in Stellenbosch.
MATCH INFORMATION: JUNIOR SPRINGBOKS V IRELAND
Venue: Athlone Stadium, Cape Town
Date: Sunday, 9 July 2023
Kick-off: 4:30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
Assistant referees: Reuben Keane (Australia), Christopher Allison (South Africa)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TV: SuperSport 211
© SA Rugby