Junior Boks expect huge onslaught from ‘hurting’ Argentina

The Junior Boks began their World Rugby U20 Championship campaign with a commanding 57-7 win over Fiji at Cape Town Stadium last week.

The South Africans had a training free day on Sunday, which was part of their recovery process, and yesterday morning they resumed preparations in the build-up to this week’s match, against Argentina, at the Danie Craven Stadium on Thursday.

“The turnaround time during this tournament is short, only four days in between before you play your next game, so for us it’s about managing the players’ load,” assistant coach Lumumba Currie says.

According to Currie, the experience the Junior Boks gained from playing a similar format in the recent U20 Rugby Championship in Australia has been a huge advantage.

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Turning their attention to Argentina, Currie mentioned that the South Americans will be out to prove a point after losing to England at Athlone Stadium on Saturday.

The Junior Boks managed to beat the Pumitas in last year’s U20 Championship, and earlier this year the Argentinians gave the South Africans a fright before they could eventually secure a hard-fought win in Queensland.

“They will be hurting after their loss to England, plus they would not want to lose to us again after coming so close in two previous games, so we are preparing for a massive battle against Argentina,” adds Currie.

The Junior Boks know that Argentina will be physical and hungry for success, but Currie emphasises the South Africans want to impose themselves in their traditional way.

“We have some plans, but we will also be physical and direct in the way South African teams like to play,” he says.

“We are glad for the win over Fiji, but we would like to see that we have taken our learnings to heart from that game, as well as our previous performance against Argentina.”

The match kicks off at 19:00.

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