Junior Springboks face tough selection choices ahead of U20 semi-final against Argentina

The Junior Springboks will face off against Argentina in the semi-finals of the World Rugby U20 Championship on Monday evening in Italy.

After a flawless group stage, the South African U20s progressed as the top-ranked side to the playoffs, while the Junior Pumas snuck in as the fourth side after finishing with more points than former champions England.

On Wednesday, the Junior Boks racked up 70-plus points for the second time in the tournament after demolishing Scotland 73-14, scoring 11 tries in the process. They beat Australia in the opening round 73-17 and tackled their way to a 32-22 win over the English.

Now, a rematch against the Pumitas awaits after the two sides played out a thrilling encounter during the U20 Rugby Championship earlier this year. South Africa won that game and will bank on that momentum and their unbeaten form to steer them to another victory.

After making several changes to the side, head coach Kevin Foote was pleased that the players didn’t slack on their intensity. They continued where they left off against the Aussies and England and kept Scotland under pressure for most of the match.

“It will be a very difficult job and will be hard to leave guys out,” Foote said of selecting a side for the semis after the performance of all the players.

“That was a mature effort (against Scotland), and our squad is in a good place. I thought our back row was excellent around the breakdown. Some of those tries were great, and most of them were because of the work done at the breakdown and the massive effort upfront, which gave the boys such a good platform. And when they got the space in front of them, they really were exciting on the attack.

“The guys are a humble bunch, and immediately after the game in the change room, they were happy, but there was a real purpose amongst them to move onto the next job.”

While resting key players, Foote will now have to juggle his selection as he brings back players like captain Riley Norton, his lock partner JJ Theron, scrumhalf Haashim Pead, who scored another try coming off the bench against Scotland, and outside centre Demitre Erasmus.

Thando Biyela, who stood in as captain, said although the win was good, it was still a tough match. Scotland managed to keep the Junior Boks scoreless for 20 minutes in the second half. This was after the South Africans scored four tries within the first 16 minutes of play.

“I thought we started the game well and had a good opening 20 minutes, which set us up for the rest of the game. But I must give credit to Scotland who tested us in the second half.

“Of course, there’s always room for improvement. We want to put in an 80-minute performance and play to our full potential.”

France and New Zealand will contest the other semi-final.