Junior Springbok assistant coach Lumumba Currie was pleased with their progress through the pool stages of the Junior World Championship but insisted there is still significant room for improvement as the defending champions prepare for a heavyweight semifinal against England in Tbilisi on Monday.
The Junior Boks completed an unbeaten Pool A campaign on evening Tuesday with a 52-33 victory over Wales, securing maximum points from their three group matches and finishing top of the standings with a tournament-leading points difference of +144. The SA U20s scored 189 points and crossed for 29 tries in their three pool matches against Uruguay, Georgia, and Wales.
Echoing SA Under-20 head coach Kevin Foote’s comments after the Welsh game, Currie reiterated that topping the pool was the team's primary objective coming into the JWC.
“We are very pleased that we've come through the group stages,” said Currie.
“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.”
While satisfied with the three group results, Currie believes the team's success has been built on a strong forward platform and significant improvements in key areas identified earlier this season.
“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 Junior Boks’ 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 to pull away from their European opponents.
The victory followed earlier wins over Uruguay (104-7) and hosts Georgia (33-5), with the tournament hosts also dominating the early stages of the game before the Junior Boks hit their straps.
Against Wales they scored eight tries, five of which were off successful lineout mauls, illustrating the SA Under-20s’ physical intent.
Despite posting more than 50 points against Wales, Currie revealed that the squad realised there are work to be done before taking on traditional rivals England.
“We hold ourselves to very high standards,” he explained.
“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 qualified for the semifinals with an unbeaten run and topping Pool C with victories over Ireland (34-27), USA (68-40), and Argentina (40-38), also finishing the pool stages with a full complement of 15 log points.
Currie expects another fiercely contested encounter between the two traditional age-group rivals, “England are a world-class side. We've had some excellent battles against them over the years and whenever you play England the intensity and execution go to another level.”
The other semifinal will feature France and New Zealand, meaning the four most successful nations in tournament history have reached the final four.
Kick-off in the match between France and New Zealand is at 4pm (SA time) at the Avchala Stadium, and that will be followed by the Junior Boks’ meeting with England Under-20 from 6:30pm (SA time). Both matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport.