Thursday, 1 May
14h00: New Zealand 29-29 Australia
16h10: Junior Boks 36-25 Argentina
Tuesday, 6 May
14h00: New Zealand 75-21 Argentina
16h10: Junior Boks 24-29 Australia
Sunday, 11 May
14h00: Argentina 36-40 Australia
16h10: Junior Boks 45-48 New Zealand
Table
| Pos | Team | PL | W | L | D | PF | PA | DIFF | TF | TA | PTS |
| 1 | New Zealand U20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 152 | 95 | 57 | 24 | 14 | 11 |
| 2 | Australia U20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 98 | 89 | 9 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| 3 | Junior Springboks | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 105 | 102 | 3 | 14 | 15 | 6 |
| 4 | Argentina U20 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 82 | 151 | -69 | 10 | 22 | 1 |
| # | NAME | SCHOOL | AG | POS | PROVINCE |
| 1 | Oliver Reid | Paul Roos | u19 | PR | WP |
| 2 | Sethu Mnebelele | KES | u19 | HK | Bulls |
| 3 | Simphiwe Ngobese | Durban HS | u20 | PR | Sharks |
| 4 | Riley Norton | Paul Roos | u19 | LK | WP |
| 5 | JJ Theron | Grey College | u20 | LK | Bulls |
| 6 | Thando Biyela | KES | u20 | LF | Lions |
| 7 | Matt Romao | Drostdy | u20 | LF | Sharks |
| 8 | Wandile Mlaba | Michaelhouse | u20 | LF | WP |
| 9 | Haashim Pead | Bishops | u20 | SH | Lions |
| 10 | Kyle Smith | Paarl Gim | u20 | FH | WP |
| 11 | Gino Cupido | Strand | u20 | WG | WP |
| 12 | Albie Bester | Boland Landbou | u20 | CT | Sharks |
| 13 | Demitre Erasmus | Garsfontein | u20 | CT | Bulls |
| 14 | Cheswill Jooste | Noordheuwel | u19 | WG | Bulls |
| 15 | Gilermo Mentoe | Bishops | u20 | FB | Lions |
| 16 | Juandre Schoeman | Noordheuwel | u20 | HK | Bulls |
| 17 | Ranon Fouche | Grey College | u20 | PR | Bulls |
| 18 | Jean Erasmus | Grey College | u20 | PR | Bulls |
| 19 | Morne Venter | Monument | u20 | LK | Lions |
| 20 | Batho Hlekani | Graeme | u20 | LF | Sharks |
| 21 | Ceano Everson | Monument | u20 | SH | Sharks |
| 22 | Vusi Moyo | KES | u19 | FH | Sharks |
| 23 | JC Mars | HJS Paarl BH | u20 | FB | WP |
| 24 | Erich Visser | Grey College | u20 | SH | Cheetahs |
| 25 | Dominic Malgas | Nico Malan | u20 | CT | WP |
| 26 | Scott Nel | HJS Paarl BH | u20 | WG | Sharks |
| 27 | Siya Ndlozi | Westville | u20 | WG | WP |
| 28 | Neil Hansen | HJS Paarl BH | u20 | LK | Lions |
| 29 | Herman Lubbe | Stellenberg | u20 | PR | WP |
| 30 | HB Odendaal | HJS Paarl BH | u20 | HK | Lions |
@Grizzly (Comment #17)
Ek stem saam
Lyk beter as verlede jaar, kort net regte keuses. Dink 2026/27 gaan beter jare wees.
Based on what England and France put out, as a minumum the Baby Boks need big boys in the pack.
They also need more game time under the belt. Lots of contracted players are not playing that much rugby after they leave school. Players should be accustomed to playing 80 min.
Also a better structure in the form of a competitive matches would help to identify the best players.
The good news is this RC will help identify the problems, so hopefully Foote can come up with a few solutions in the time left before the JWC kicks off.
Wat n joke! As jy my Grey en Garsies 23 spanne gee sal daai AB verlang na NZ. Die beste van alles is hulle dink hulle het die beste van SA gewen vanaand🤣🤣. Die grap is op ons, dis hoekom ek glad nie meer Bo SBR kyk nie. Almal dink Rassie is n saint….. N hoerskool afrigter kan met ons talent die WB wen….. Rassie is net die beste om die beste van n k#k situasie te maak.
@brentsw3 (Comment #14)
Agree, the size of the Georgians, Argentinians, French, English are massive!! Eben would be small in some of these U20 teams. I watch club rugby in the UK quite a bit, 2m plus locks everywhere……SA gets man-handled at U20 level
Ons PoC reel breek ons op u20 vlak. Skole vlak is op meriete.
I also think it’s time to debunk the myth that SA players are the biggest and baddest in the world. I love players stats re weight and height but will admit these stats are not readily available or open for scrutiny. The few that I am able to check suggest we enjoy no such advantage, not at age group level and not at senior level. Maybe in the amateur era but not in the pro era…
@brentsw3 (Comment #12)
Klubrugby is deur die Varsity beker geannekseer.
@Grasshopper (Comment #9)
The club setup in SA is not what it used to be. What I would love to see, is a structure similar to what we see in the open age group at schools level, replicated in the provincial setup.
Doubt it will ever happen but the provinces should be putting out 8 teams in each age group and at senior level too. So Lions/Bulls/Stormers/Sharks etc U20 1sts through to 8ths, Lions/Bulls/Stormers/Sharks etc U23 1sts through to 8ths, Lions/Bulls/Stormers/Sharks senior provincial team 1sts to 8ths… Let school leavers have a union to play and grow in outside of the almost defunct club setup. I can’t imagine how challenging the logistics and cost behind such a restructuring would be but I honestly believe it would work and make SA rugby stronger.
Bok v Aus was a very disappointing game overall, in particular the 2nd half. We fell off the pace quite badly, suggesting the Aussies conditioning is superior to ours. I also thought we were a little unlucky with the disallowed try just before halftime. For essentially double banking, in this case 1, the lifter, ajudged to be ahead of the jumper. Perhaps the right call but a call missed by the on-field ref but confirmed by the TMO after multiple replays. In the 2nd half the tiring Boks became fragmented and disconnected on defense. The subs didn’t provide the expected boost in momentum and despite being down to 13 men in the 1st half, losing 2 players through injury also in the 1st half, the Aussies finished the game the more energised and efficient of the 2 teams. It’s perplexing to say the least, given our supposedly superior schools system, home ground advantage and stronger build up to the series (we played Georgia twice in preparation)… Anyway, NZ on Sunday, I expect the boys to be up for it. We got a very good record against NZ at U20 level. Although the loss is bitterly disappointing I’m confident the boys will get it done on Sunday. Confidence perhaps bordering on naivety and ignorance but condfidence nonetheless…
@beet (Comment #3)
Harry Jones analysis is next level…love the man’s work!! From a technical, psychological and philosophical perspective, his analysis is almost always on point…
@Mate (Comment #8)
I’m no expert, but for me SA focuses too much on schoolboy rugby. Kids become heroes playing in crowds of 10,000+ getting admiration from girls, exposure on TV etc and then suddenly after matric, reality hits. They are no longer heroes, have to study and are playing in front of tiny crowds. The glamour and lights are gone and they quit. This is where the focus should be, getting the boys into clubs and playing proper ballie rugby. Other countries like Ireland focus on U23s, that is where it should be…..being a hero at school when only 1% make it is just wrong…
Was a bit of a surprise to me Aus u/20 beating the Baby Boks.
Aus with hardly any school or junior programme( not nearly as structured as ours) beating our professional young prima donnas.
Doesn’t make sense
Not sure if there is a reason to worry or are we doing enough with our schoolboy talent after school.
Perhaps all the experts on this blog can help me out please
Die o19 is meer indrukwekkend vir my as die o20s (behalwe vir Hlekani). Volgende jaar gaan kook
Cheswill Jooste take a bow, what a tackle!
Keep an eye out for James Martens, playing for Aus, I believe he is the son of Hilton College legend Hentie Martens.
@beet (Comment #3)
Thanks. Looking forward to the Aussie match. Looking at the team ages. Thought there are more 19 year olds.
interesting analysis here
https://youtu.be/kGpyUgKxp24?si=ZuD56CGEvQKFfjqC
@OomPB (Comment #1)
I think that is the general consensus but early days.
England and France are possibly still the yardstick and they seemed to have figured out that big boys at u20 level are the recipe for success.
Dankie Beet. Bokkies het beter as laas jaar gelyk in die 1ste wedstryde. Luke Smith het gesukkel. Ook die lynstsne en skrums. Australia het verbasend goed gelyk teen NZ.