Junior Boks revving up for Oz showdown

Working on their line-out timing and set piece play will be focus points for the Junior Springboks in preparation for a crunch clash against Australia on Tuesday, South Africa coach Kevin Foote said.

The Boks kicked off their challenge for Under-20 Rugby Championship glory with a hard-fought 36-25 win over Argentina in front of 10,000 fans at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium last week.

On Tuesday, the Boks will be up against an Australia who fought back courageously to snatch a 29-29 draw against defending champions New Zealand in their opening game.

At the death, Beau Morrison scored a try and ice-cool Sid Harvey held his nerve to slot the all-important conversion to tie the game.

“I think the takeout from the Argentina game will be that we work hard on our set piece,” Foote said.

“Our attack and defence was really good. There was a little bit of timing stuff in the line-outs that we missed out on.

“If teams are going to defend hard at the front and middle [of line-outs] and you have to back yourself to go to the back and I think it is probably a bit of a timing thing.

“I have no doubt that between the coaching staff and captain Riley Norton we will get on top of that pretty soon.

“When we could not get a platform against Argentina it put us under pressure and we played a bit more for territory and understanding the wind in the stadium.

“Argentina have always been known for their defensive line-outs.”

Foote said getting accustomed to a slippery sand-based Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium pitch was one of the challenges facing the Boks.

“There were probably a couple of early nerves and we had to get used to that field, It is a sand-based field so the guys underfoot weren’t as confident.

“I think one of our biggest strengths is our leadership and after halftime [Argentina] scored quickly and the guys didn’t drop their heads. A lot of credit must go to our leadership group and the confidence of the team to go back to what works and play more of a territory game and put them under pressure in their half.

“The guys adapted well after halftime.”

The competition comprises a round robin where South Africa, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand play each other once across two weeks. The top team after the third round of the six-match tournament will be declared the winner.

Remaining fixtures:

Tuesday:

• New Zealand v Argentina (2pm)
• Junior Boks v Australia (4.10pm)

Sunday:

• Argentina v Australia (2pm)
• Junior Boks v New Zealand (4.10pm)

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