The clash between the Junior Springboks and England promises to deliver another epic battle between the two rugby rivals when they meet in a crucial Pool A match at the World Rugby U20 Rugby Championship in Rovigo on Friday. The match will kick off at 18h00.
The Junior Boks come into the clash on the back of a resounding 73-17 victory over Australia in Calvisano last Sunday, while England defeated Scotland 56-19 in their opening-round meeting on the same day in Verona.
England downed the SA U20’s 17-12 in a hard-fought battle in the pool stage on their way to lifting the world title last year in Cape Town.
South Africa’s impressive win over the Aussies was the result of a perfect blend of forward power and potent back play, with wing Siya Ndlozi and scrumhalf Haashim Pead each scoring a brace of tries as the Junior Boks bagged 11 tries overall against a quality Australian side.
Immediately afterwards, a satisfied captain Riley Norton spoke mainly of things the Junior Springboks could have done better and what aspects of their game they will need to improve to beat reigning champions England in their next match.
It was a common thread of the Junior Bok message this week in the build-up to their clash with the defending champions.
Attack coach Melusi Mthethwa said during the team announcement media conference on Wednesday they have focussed heavily on the things the Junior Boks want to improve.
“England are not world champions for nothing; they have earned that right, and we will be facing a formidable team,” said Mthethwa.
“We have a huge amount of respect for them and are excited about facing them.
“There always things to improve on, such as our execution and the things we want to achieve from certain plays. The players continue to work and grow together in units and as a team.”
Pead is a vice-captain of the team and one of several leaders in the Junior Bok side, with the bonus of playing in last year’s championship in South Africa.
“We have done our homework and prepared well for them. We respect England and they we do expect them to play an exciting brand of rugby, as well being solid with their kicking game,” said Pead, adding that the Junior Boks will not deviate from their approach.
“We are just going to stick to our DNA, which is our physicality, set-piece and kicking game. Myself and (flyhalf) Vusi Moyo have been training well for the past few months – I actually feel our connection is good and the way we connect with the rest of our team mates have been excellent so far.”
However, the livewire scrumhalf was quick to praise the effort of the hard-working South African forward pack: “Against Australia, the forwards provided us with an excellent platform, which we are grateful for, because at the end of the day rugby is a team sport and you can’t do anything without other people helping you.
“A massive challenge and opportunity for us as a team against England, and we are excited to be involved in such a game,” said Pead.
The match will be televised form 18h00 on SuperSport Rugby.
Stats and facts provided by Opta:
- South Africa (908) and England (579) gained more metres from their carries than any other sides in the opening round of this year’s World Rugby U20 Championship and were also the only two teams to make over 10 line breaks (South Africa – 13, England – 11).
- England retained possession from 41% of their kicks in play against Scotland in Round 1 (7/17), the highest rate of any team last Sunday.
- South Africa made the most dominant tackles of any team in the opening round, while England made the joint-fewest (4, also Wales, Australia and Spain); however, England maintained the second-best tackle success rate of any nation (87.9%), behind France (89.7%).
- England were one of two teams, alongside South Africa (Ndlozi and Pead), to see two of their players score a brace of tries in the opening round of this year’s Championship in the form of Jack Bracken and Kane James – Bracken also ranked first for line breaks (10) and turnover-winning tackles (5) in the 2025 U20 Six Nations.
xSTORMx
Sport Trivia: Which was the first Olympic Games in which Ghana competed as an independent nation? Answer: Rome 1960 – Having competed in Helsinki in 1952 as Gold Coast, Ghana did not send a team to the 1956 Games in Melbourne. By the time the 1960 Games came around, the country had achieved full independence from Great Britain, (in 1957) and was officially known as Ghana.
Indestructible Potato
1900 was the one and only time that cricket was played at the Paris Olympics. The game was participated in by only two teams – one from England and one from France. According to fans, the length of a match and the limited number of countries that participate in the sport may be to blame. There is some talk that cricket may return to the Games in 2028.