Victory in Tough Conditions

The Junior Springboks concluded their short tour of Georgia with a 35-5 victory over their hosts on a cold and wet Friday afternoon in Tbilisi, with SA U20 head coach Kevin Foote praising the players’ resilience in the tough conditions.

The SA U20s, who won the first game by 35-0 on Sunday, led by 21-0 at the break and scored five tries to one by the Georgian U20s.

The tough conditions made handling very difficult, while the South Africans were also guilty of conceding too many penalties, with two players also spending time in the sin-bin.

Yaqeen Ahmed contributed 15 points from a try five conversions, which means that the Junior Bok flyhalf succeeded with all 10 of his conversions over the two matches.

Reflecting on the performance, Foote said the players showed a lot of character: “The conditions were tough with all the rain. Playing in Georgia is always difficult for different reasons, but I thought the guys showed a lot of maturity today.”

The Junior Boks were forced to be patient, as Georgia’s physical pack made possession difficult to come by. However, the South Africans were clinical when given the opportunity.

“We didn’t get a lot of possession, but when we did, we made use of it, especially in the first half,” Foote added.

Lindsey Jansen opened the scoring for the SA U20s after strong runs by the midfield pair of Ethan Adams and Markus Muller had set up play nicely for the speedster to finish.

He was followed over the whitewash by scrumhalf Hendré Schoeman before Zekhethelo Siyaya, who was impressive in the No 15 jersey on attack, scored their third converted try to give the Junior Boks a 21-0 lead at the break.

Georgia started the second half more determined, and the slippery conditions meant a lot of stop-start play as the players struggled with their handling.

The second half proved more abrasive and disjointed, which tested the team’s discipline and defensive resolve. Despite the pressure, the Junior Boks’ defence remained strong as they conceded only one try, their only one in two matches.

Nika Khalvashi (wing) scored the hosts’ only try shortly after the break, from a great cross-kick, but Ahmed and Risima Khosa added two more tries as the South Africans eased into a well-deserved away win.

“The second half was very stop-start, so there were some great learnings for us here in Georgia, as we’ll be playing here again during the Junior World Championship, which they will host,” added Foote.

“It was a good effort to us for only conceding one try, which is important and shows our character, but we still have a long way to go as we head towards the U20 Rugby Championship.”

The squad will return to South Africa over the weekend and will have a break before assembling again next month at their training base in Stellenbosch.

Scorers:

• Junior Springboks 35 (21) – Tries: Lindsey Jansen, Hendré Schoeman, Zekhethelo Siyaya, Yaqeen Ahmed, Risima Khosa. Conversions: Ahmed (5).
• Georgia U20 5 (0) – Try: Nika Khalvashi.