Junior Boks secure U20 Rugby Championship
By Angus Opperman
Sunday 3 May 2026
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WRAP: The Junior Springboks secured a first-ever Under-20 Rugby Championship title after dismantling the Junior Wallabies by 56-17 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Sunday.
Following New Zealand’s defeat to Los Pumitas in the earlier match, the Junior Boks secured the full house of points to ensure an unassailable lead on the table with a round to spare.
They will face New Zealand in a ‘dead rubber’ on Saturday, May 9, in the final round of the tournament.
The Junior Boks scored eight tries to three, albeit two of those penalty tries conceded by Australia in an ill-disciplined first half, which saw the Junior Boks take a well-deserved 28-12 halftime lead.
The penalty tries also resulted in subsequent yellow cards, and twice the Aussies found themselves down to 13 players. However, they still managed to score a try despite the disadvantage.
That said, it was a day the Junior Springboks will remember fondly and rightfully so, following their disappointment in Gqeberha in last year’s tournament.
They started the match strongly and enjoyed territorial dominance, with good tactical kicking by scrumhalf Hendré Schoeman keeping them going forward and stuck in the Aussies’ faces.
Australia only had one entry into the SA half in that time, and it appeared to be a matter of time before their first points were going to be scored, and it followed in fine fashion.
After fluffing a first line-out, SA opted for a second line-out drive 12 mins in and following a couple of midfield bursts, some sharp passing handed Jack Benade space on the wing and he made no mistake to finish in the corner. Flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed slotted the conversion to push the hosts 7-0 up.
Australia, in turn, had Leo Jaques (centre) yellow-carded for a high tackle, which left them with a team warning for tackle height.
Australia kept their attack going, but that was undone at the breakdown – an area in which SA excelled.
The next try was spurred on by the team exploiting the extra attacker, as the ball was moved to wing Khuti Rasivhaga, who ran hard, before a smooth recycle found flanker Wasi Vyambwera in full flight.
There was no stopping him, as he crashed over near the uprights to leave Ahmed a simple conversion for a 14-0 lead.
The pack earned a scrum penalty shortly after the restart, but the line-out throw went astray.
They repeated the exercise, though, and this time, Australia were pinged for pulling down the maul, and the penalty try by referee Goncalo De Achaval stretched the lead to a commanding 21-0.
To compound matters for the Aussies, another yellow card was issued for the offence, just as Jacques returned to the field.
Despite being a man down, Australia kept playing, and a good, sustained attack resulted in a try to flyhalf Finn Mackay, who dummied his way past two defenders near the line. The conversion was good, and after 30 minutes, Australia finally had points on the board.
Another penalty try was awarded to the Junior Boks, this time when winger Taione Taka slapped down a potential try-scoring pass.
Australia’s three yellow cards would have clearly been the topic of conversation in their change room at the break, to add to the seven penalties they conceded.
Another talking point would have been how to allow MacKay more space, as he once again worked magic to create a try-scoring opportunity, with winger Riley Whitfeld dotting down.
For Kevin Foote, that try conceded against 13 men would have been a stern reminder to his charges that they needed to sharpen up their defence around the fringes of the rucks and mauls, especially as most of their 56 tackles made in the opening half were dominant, but none of those on MacKay.
That defence came in handy early in the second half, when a more desperate Australian side was back on the field.
The Aussies attacked strongly early on, but were held up over the SA line, and the Junior Boks could breathe again.
A couple of strong line-out mauls from the Junior Boks brought some parity in play, and this was assisted by good scrummaging by the pack.
They earned two scrum penalties in a row, and when replacement props Oliver Reed and Luan van der Berg came on, the dominance continued.
An inevitable Ethan Adams try, which started with a scrum penalty and a good kick to the line, made the scoreboard much more reflective, pushing the lead to 35-12 after 50 minutes.
Adams ran hard and straight and bounced off some defenders, much to the delight of the supportive crowd.
Ten minutes later, Schoeman, always industrious and alert to attack the blindside, got a personal reward when he bounced out of two tackles to score the sixth try for the Junior Boks. Ahmed converted from the corner, and suddenly their lead was 30 points at 42-12.
The Aussies pulled one back, but Luke Cannon replied in kind as the Junior Boks managed yet another strong line-out maul 68 minutes into the match, extending the lead to 49-17.
The 50 came up when Ahmed, who moved to inside centre, was put into a huge gap by replacement flyhalf, Vusi Moyo, and the try was a well-deserved one to Ahmed, who enjoyed a stellar match.
SA 56-17 Australia
Scorers
For South Africa:
Tries: Benade, Vyambwera, Adams, Cannon, Schoeman, Ahmed, Penalty try 2 (does not require a conversion)
Cons: Ahmed 4, Moyo 2
For Australia:
Tries: Mackay, Whitfeld, Taka
Con: Mackay
Teams
South Africa U20: 15 ?Akahluwa Boqwana, 14 ?Jack Benade, 13 ?Samuel Badenhorst, 12 ?Ethan Adams, 11? Khuthadzo Rasivhaga, 10 ?Yaqeen Ahmed, 9 ?Hendré Schoeman, 8? Kebotile Maake, 7? Wasi Vyambwera, 6 ?Luke Canon, 5 ?Riley Norton (captain), 4? Heinrich Theron, 3 ?Danie Kruger, 2 ?Liam van Wyk, 1 Rambo Kubheka.
Replacements: 16 ?Mahle Sithole, 17 ?Oliver Reid, 18 Luan van der Berg, 19 ?JD Hattingh, 20 ?Gert Kemp, 21 ?Jayden Brits, 22 ?Vusi Moyo, 23 ?Jade Muller.
Australia U20: 15 Louis Fenwicke, 14 Riley Whitfeld, 13 Leo Jaques, 12 Zach Fittler, 11 Taione Taka, 10 Finn Mackay, 9 Angus Grover, 8 Eli Langi, 7 Tom Robinson (captain), 6 Luca Cleverley, 5 Isaac Fonua, 4 Will Ross, 3 Edwin Langi, 2 Ewald Kruger, 1 Jacob Job
Replacements: 16 Tyler Maybery, 17 Nick Hill, 18 Jonah Rangiwai, 19 Kenneth Harris, 20 Toby Brial, 21 Marshall Le Maitre, 22 Jonty Fowler, 23 Chayse Geros
Referee: Gonzalo De Achaval
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison, Lulutho Matomela
TMO: Ben Crouse
New Zealand 17-25 Argentina
Scorers
For New Zealand:
Tries: Van, Wiseman, McLeod
Con: Norrie
For Argentina:
Tries: Serpa, Avaca, Fernandez, Penalty try (does not require a conversion)
Pen: Serpa
Teams:
New Zealand U20: 15 Cohen Norrie, 15 Jay Reihana, 13 Oliver Guerin, 12 Haki Wiseman, 11 JD Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Mika Muliaina, 9 Charlie Sinton, 8 Finn McLeod, 7 Kobe Brownlee, 6 Logan Platt, 5 Jake Frost, 4 Alex Arnold, 3 Alex Hewitt, 2 Josh Findlay, 1 Ethan Webber.
Replacements: 16 Luka Patumaka Makata, 17 Charlie Wallis, 18 Dane Johnston, 19 Johnny Falloon, 20 Micah Fale, 21 Boston Krone, 22 Angus Revell, 23 Logan Williams.
Argentina U20: 15 Simón Pfister, 14 Bautista Quiroga Miguens, 13 Pedro Coll (captain), 12 Benjamín Ordiz, 11 Luciano Avaca, 10 Federico Serpa, 9 Juan Preumayr, 8 Federico Torre, 7 Jerónimo Sorondo, 6 Franco Marizza, 5 Bautista Benavides, 4 Joaquin Pascual Viale, 3 Bautista Salinas Mealla, 2 Manuel Cuneo Camargo, 1 Fabrizio Cebron.
Replacements: 16 Nicolas Cambiasso, 17 Benjamin Farias Cerioni, 18 German Tello Fredes, 19 Agustin Ponzio, 20 Basillio Canas, 21 Benjamin Ledesma Arocena, 22 Ramon Fernandez, 23 Manuel Giannantonio.
Referee: Ella Goldsmith
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison, Lulutho Matomela
TMO: Ben Crouse