Junior Boks crash to defeat against Aussies in U-20 Rugby Champs

The Junior Springboks suffered their first defeat in the Under-20 Rugby Championship when they lost 24-19 to the Baby Wallabies at the Sunshine Coast Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

The result means the Junior Boks have now drawn and lost one game Down Under and have everything to play for in their last match on Sunday against Argentina’s juniors, who also lost on Tuesday against the Baby All Blacks.

The Baby Boks made several changes to their starting XV for their clash with Australia. The reason behind the changes is that the management looked to give players game time and build depth in their squad.

Tough start, conditions for Baby Boks

It was not a great start for Bafana Nhleko’s Junior Boks as the Baby Wallabies put them under immense pressure in the opening minutes of the game, but the South Africans showed great composure to keep their hosts out. 

There was heavy rainfall and wind in Bokarina, Queensland which made things difficult for both teams; the ball would often get lost in physical contact and there were many handling errors because of the wet ball. 

It then became a matter of playing the conditions and that brought about the kicking battle. The Baby Wallabies won that aspect of the game, they knew when to kick for distance and high for contestable kicks. They also had territorial dominance but then would be let down by handling errors when in the red zone. 

Execellent JF van Heerden

Although under pressure, the Junior Springboks kept their structure and were solid in the set-pieces. The captain for the day, JF van Heerden, was impressive at the lineout; he called them well in difficult conditions and even made key steals. 

Van Heerden and Co would be dealt a blow when they had to play the last 20 minutes of the first half with 14 players as prop Mbasa Maqubela got a 20-minute red card for striking an Australian player on the head around the ruck. 

Australia kept on pilling on the pressure and eventually got on the scoreboard through a penalty from Cullen Gray in the 28th minute. The Junior Boks were not fazed by that as they went on to camp on the Wallabies 5m line. 

The big forwards built multiple phases and it would be Van Heerden who got a converted try for the Boks.  Australia went in front again through fullback Shane Wilcox’s converted try. That would be enough to give Australia the 10-7 lead at halftime. 

Momentum swing for the Baby Boks

The Junior Boks started the second stanza on the front foot. They made a couple of changes that brought about stability and they carried with power and intent. They were also quick to recover the ball with a good rush defence that seemed to rattle the Baby Wallabies. 

The scrums though let the Junior Boks down; they just could not get in sync when engaging in scrum battles. This helped Australia to escape pressure moments. 

The game developed into an arm wrestling match, the physical battle was at a high level, and both sides were showing character. Momentum was with the Boks; however, the Wallabies were strong defensively. 

The Baby Boks changed their attacking variation, building multiple phases and that helped to put them on the front foot. 

A second converted score followed for the Junior Boks when Litelihle Bester was on hand to receive a pass from Asad Moos and race through to the tryline.

The Junior Boks, once again, failed to hold on to their lead as the Wallabies got back in front with a converted try through Wilcox to lead 17-14 in the last 10 minutes. Australia added another seven-point score via a penalty try.

The Junior Boks would throw the last punch through Bester, who chased down a kick by Jurenzo Julius, picking it up on his way to dotting down. The conversion would be missed by Thurlon Williams. 

The Wallabies managed to hold on for a 24-19 win. 

Scorers

Australia U20: Tries – Shane Wilcox (2), Penalty try; Conversions – Cullen Gray (2) ;Penalty – Cullen Gray 

South Africa U20: Try – JF van Heerden, Litelihle Bester (2); Conversions – Thurlon Williams (2)