Nutshell: Spluttering Junior Boks escape with a draw

The Junior Springboks celebrated as if they had won but, in all honesty, there was precious little to cheer about after they played to a 23-all draw with France in their opening match at the Under-20 World Championship on Wednesday.

It required a try in injury time for them to rescue a match some would say they deserved to lose.

Even then, flyhalf Curwin Bosch’s low conversion almost missed as Chean Roux’s team breathed a sigh of relief.

But South Africa can take some heart – they won 2012’s tournament after they lost their first match.

Who was the star in this match?

He scored the two tries that kept the Junior Boks in the picture but eighthman Juarno Augustus actually did more than that.

The compact ball-carrier maintained his standards while the rest of his teammates spluttered.

Key themes and events

• South Africa’s meaty pack of forwards showed their superior physicality after a knock-on by the French gifted them possession. They kept the ball well, allowing Augustus to burst over the line. With momentum on their side, the boot of Bosch kept the opposition in their own half and led to a further penalty and a 10-0 lead.
• A big error in judgement by scrumhalf Rewan Kruger saw the Junior Boks lose their grip. Under pressure close to their own tryline, the Cheetahs youngster tried to kick clear with a defender swarming around him and was charged down. French fullback Romain Buros obliged to score.
• Clearly motivated, France punished South Africa’s poor handling as they continually ran possession back into the Boks’ own half. Wandi Simelane, South Africa’s left wing, felt the pressure on defence as he was yellow carded for a deliberate trip before loosehead Gerhard Steenekamp was sent to the bin for repeated infringements at the maul. That momentum allowed the French to score two tries in 12 minutes.
• Looking tactically clueless, the Junior Boks spent much of the second half camped in their own territory. They also failed to stop French flyhalf Romain Ntamack from kicking two drop goals from second phase possession.
• Granted a lifeline in the 80th minute through a penalty, the Junior Boks kept the ball among their forwards and managed to stay patient enough for the crucial score.

Point scorers

Junior Springboks – Tries: Juarno Augustus (2). Conversions: Curwin Bosch (2). Penalties: Bosch (3).

France – Tries: Romain Buros, Florian Dufour, Baptiste Couilloud. Conversion: Romain Ntamack. Drop goals: Ntamack (2).

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