The Junior Springboks lit up the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium with a feast of sizzling first-half tries when they beat Argentina 48-21 in their opening match at the Sanzaar U20 Rugby Championship tournament on Monday.
Though they lost momentum in the second half, it was an enterprising start for the next generation of Bok stars at the second edition of the four-team tournament to be held in Gqeberha.
In the opening game of a double-header, defending champions New Zealand beat Australia 34-29 in an entertaining encounter to set the tone for the late game.
Backed by a partisan 11,000 crowd, the ruthless Baby Boks showed the sort of form that saw them crowned world champions in 2025 during a commanding first-half display.
The Boks, who led 36-0 at half-time, outscored Argentina by eight tries to three.
SA made a blistering start when dynamic centre Ethan Adams powered his way through Argentina’s defence to crash over for the first try in the second minute.
The Baby Boks continued to swarm onto the attack, and the pressure paid off when scrumhalf Hendre Schoeman was over for SA’s second try after eight minutes.
Flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed made no mistake with the conversion to give the Boks a handy early 12-0 lead.
Seven minutes later, Ahmed jinxed his way through the Pumas’ defence to register SA’s third try to push the lead up to 17-0.
SA’s opening try-scoring blitz continued when wing Jack Benade latched onto a perfectly directed cross-field kick from the ever-present Ahmed to put the Boks 24-0 ahead.
The try fest continued when the powerful Adams scored a second try to add to Argentina’s misery in the 25th minute.
At this stage it was one-way traffic, with Argentina struggling to match the Boks’ high-tempo game.
Try predator Benade lifted the Boks into a 36-0 lead after 33 minutes with his second try to round off an impressive first half.
Early second-half tries from replacement prop Oliver Reid and a third for try-hungry Benade put the Boks 48-0 ahead after 55 minutes.
Despite being outplayed, Argentina never threw in the towel and punctured the SA defence for the first time in the 62nd minute when Federico Torre crossed the line.
They added further respectability to the scoreline when Tomas Dande and Torre went over for further late tries.
Scorers:
SA 48: Tries: Ethan Adams (2), Hendre Schoeman, Yaqeen Ahmed, Jack Benade (3), Oliver Reid. Conversions: Yaqeen Ahmed (4).
Argentina 21: Tries: Federico Torre (2), Tomas Dande. Conversions: Manuel Giannantonio (3).
The opening game got off to a bright start, with New Zealand and Australia scoring early tries to set the tone for the match.
The Baby Blacks scored the first five-pointer after four minutes when fullback Cohen Norrie dived over after enterprising play by his back division.
Two minutes later, Australia hit back with a try of their own from loose forward Marshall Le Maitre after strong play among the forwards.
The sides continued trading blows, and New Zealand had a second try when prop Henry Stuart powered his way over the tryline.
Both teams were full of running, and Australian wing Riley Whitfield danced his way through the New Zealand defence and put his team on level terms at 12-12 after 20 minutes.
Further tries by Taione Taka and Finn Mackay allowed Australia to grab a useful 24-12 halftime lead.
New Zealand struck the first blow of the second half when the lively Norrie crossed for his second five-pointer.
When Australia went down to 13 men after cards to Cooper Watters and Angus Grover, New Zealand surged into a 34-29 lead with 13 minutes remaining.
Scorers:
New Zealand 34: Tries: Cohen Norrie (2) , Henry Stuart, Haki Wiseman, Caleb Woodley, Logan Williams. Conversions: Mika Muliaina (2).
Australia 29: Tries: Marshall Le Maitre, Riley Whitfield, Taione Taka, Finn Mackay, Leo Jaques. Conversions: Finn Mackay (2).
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