The Junior Springboks say there is “a lot of work to be done” despite kicking off the U20 Summer Series on a triumphant note in Italy on Friday evening.
South Africa scored a solid 30-22 victory over England in their opening pool match in Verona. Playing against a stiff wind, the South Africans went into the half-time break with a 10-7 lead, with their forward pack giving them a great platform to eventually outscore England by five tries to three.
England used their maul to great effect in a tightly-contested opening period, but the SA youngsters grew in confidence and, in the end, they dominated the scrums and collisions to set up a well-deserved win over a powerful England side.
“We are happy with the win because England are a quality side,” said coach Bafana Nhleko. “They are physical but we knew what would be coming.
“We pride ourselves on our physicality and our forwards laid the foundation for a good win.”
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But, the Junior Boks took a while to get into their stride. “You could see it was our first match because we looked rusty at times,” said Nhleko.
“However, we are happy with the victory, and we do realise there’s a lot of work to be done before we play the two teams who finished first and second in the U20 Six Nations this year.”
The Junior Boks face Ireland on Wednesday, and then France on 5 July.
Skipper and flyhalf Sacha Mngomezulu was impressive with his distribution and decision-making, but had an off day with the boot.
“Playing against the wind in the first half and going into the lead at the break with an advantage gave us a huge lift,” he said. “We will enjoy the win, not get carried away and get straight into preparation for Ireland, who are the Six Nations’ top side.”
