14 Nov 2025
South Africa u19 32–22 Ireland u19
South Africa u19 claimed a hard-fought 32–22 victory over Ireland u19 in challenging conditions on a windswept 4G pitch.
SA started brightly, opening the scoring through a well-constructed rolling maul that rumbled forward for plenty of metres before hooker Esethu Mnebelele peeled off to score. In a half dominated by tactical kicking, Ireland — playing into the wind — showed better cohesion with ball in hand during an otherwise subdued passage of play. South Africa took a narrow 10–3 lead into the break.
Ireland struck first in the second stanza when their maul splintered and a superb one-handed pass out of contact released their midfield. The Irish inside centre powered through a tackle to draw level. SA responded immediately with another composed maul, replacement hooker Mahle Sithole dotting down after the backs added weight to the surge in the right-hand corner, restoring a 17–10 advantage.
Flyhalf Vusi Moyo pushed a long-range penalty wide soon after, but Ireland’s botched exit handed SA a prime attacking lineout. Another maul infringement produced a penalty try, stretching the lead to 22–10.
Ireland then lifted their tempo, with their lively fullback injecting pace to put them on the front foot inside the SA 22. A lapse at the breakdown opened a gap for an Irish forward to charge through and score, trimming the margin to 22–15. The error also left the Baby Boks down to 14 men.
South Africa hit back with a moment of ingenuity: a clever back-heel tap set up the decoy line that freed the talismanic captain, Riley Norton, who carried strongly before replacement prop Rambo Khubeka completed the assault by barging over. That effort stretched the lead to 29–15.
Ireland responded with a charge-down try after a sluggish SA exit from a defensive scrum, narrowing the gap to 29–22 and setting up a tense finish.
But a dominant SA scrum settled matters. Pieter van der Merwe carried powerfully off the base, gaining valuable metres and putting the visitors back in the red zone, where they earned the penalty that sealed a well-earned 32–22 win.
SA u19 vs Ireland match link
https://plus.irishrugby.ie/events/vcmtbxjs
08 Nov 2025
France u19 20-12 South Africa u19
In a forgettable performance, the South Africa u19 team struggled to find any continuity in a stop-start encounter, in which their French counterparts also failed to gain momentum.
Beyond the lack of flow which saw their backs getting close to no meaningful ball, the Green and Gold forwards undermined themselves by leaving numerous points on the field, with lineout setups and red-zone mauls going awry through a combination of technical and unforced errors. Ultimately, it was these missed opportunities that denied the South African u19s a win in this first match in France.
That said, both tries came from close-range mauls, one on either side of halftime.
The teams changed ends at 7-7.
The only real noticeable difference between the sides was the French willingness to use the boot, either as a passing option or to get beyond the defensive wall. A rare bit of sustained phase play in the final quarter gave the home team some breathing room at 17-7, though the victory was only sealed late with a second penalty after earlier missed drop-goal attempts.
Match link
https://www.youtube.com/live/zd3mDa7Mczs
| FRA | IRE | POS | NAME | SCHOOL | UNION | SA u18 | SA Sch 2024 | SA SCH/Y-WK |
| 1 | 1 | PR-L | Oliver Reid | 1 of 3 Paul Roos | 1 of 7 WP | SA u18 A 2024 | SA SCH 2024 | SA Sch 2024 |
| 2 | 2 | HK | Esethu Mnebelele | 1 of 3 KES | 1 of 9 Bulls | SA u18 2024 | Bulls CW 2024 | SA SCH 2024 |
| 3 | 3 | PR-T | Danie Kruger | 1 of 4 Grey College | 1 of 7 WP | FS CW 2024 | Bulls CW 2024 | |
| 4 | 4 | LK | Heinrich Theron | 2 of 4 Grey College | 2 of 9 Bulls | SA Sch A 2024 | FS CW 2024 | |
| 19 | 5 | LK | JD Hattingh | 1 of 2 Affies | 1 of 6 Lions | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch A 2024 | SA Sch A 2024 |
| 24 | 6 | LF | Risima Khosa | 1 of 2 Jeppe | 2 of 6 Lions | SA u18 A 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | SA Sch A 2024 |
| 5 | 7 | LK | Riley Norton | 1 of 3 Paul Roos | 2 of 7 WP | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | SA Sch 2024 |
| 21 | 8 | N8 | Vuyo Gwiji | 1 of 1 Northwood | 3 of 6 Lions | SA Sch A 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | |
| 22 | 9 | FH | Luan Giliomee | 1 of 1 Charlie Hofmeyr | 1 of 8 Sharks | SA u18 A 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | SA Sch A 2024 |
| 10 | 10 | FH | Vusi Moyo | 2 of 3 KES | 2 of 8 Sharks | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | SA Sch 2024 |
| 14 | 11 | WG | Lindsey Jansen | 1 of 1 Noordheuwel | 3 of 9 Bulls | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | SA Sch 2024 |
| 12 | 12 | CT-I | Pieter vd Merwe | 3 of 4 Grey College | 4 of 9 Bulls | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | SA Sch 2024 |
| 23 | 13 | CT-I | Janco Purchase | 2 of 2 Affies | 3 of 8 Sharks | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | |
| 13 | 14 | CT/WG | Khuthadzo Rasivhaga | 2 of 2 Jeppe | 4 of 8 Sharks | SA u18 A 2024 | Lions CW 2024 | |
| 11 | 15 | WG/FB | Dylan Miller | 1 of 2 Rondebosch | 3 of 7 WP | SA Sch 2024 | Lions CW 2024 | |
| NS | 16 | HK | Mahle Sithole | 1 of 3 Durban HS | 4 of 6 Lions | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | SA Sch 2024 |
| 17 | 17 | PR-L | Phiwayinkosi Khubeka | 1 of 1 Maritzburg College | 5 of 8 Sharks | SA u18 2024 | Lions CW 2024 | SA Sch 2024 |
| 18 | 18 | PR-T | Ulrich vd Merwe | 1 of 1 Helpmekaar | 6 of 8 Sharks | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch A 2024 | Lions CW 2024 |
| 20 | 19 | LK | Tom Barnard | 2 of 2 Rondebosch | 4 of 7 WP | SA u18 A 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | SA Sch A 2024 |
| 6 | 20 | N8 | Kebotile Maake | 3 of 3 KES | 5 of 9 Bulls | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch A 2024 | SA Sch 2024 |
| 16 | 21 | HK | Liam van Wyk | 4 of 4 Grey College | 7 of 8 Sharks | SA u18 A 2024 | SA Sch A 2024 | |
| 25 | 22 | SH | Brooklyn Newman | 1 of 1 Garsfontein | 6 of 9 Bulls | SA u18 A 2024 | SA Sch A 2024 | |
| 15 | 23 | FB | Akahluwa Boqwana | 2 of 3 Durban HS | 7 of 9 Bulls | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | SA Sch A 2024 |
| 7 | NS | LF | Adan da Costa | 1 of 1 Wynberg | 5 of 7 WP | SA u18 A 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | |
| 8 | NS | N8 | Reuben Kruger | 2 of 3 Paul Roos | 6 of 7 WP | SA u18 2024 | SA Sch 2024 | |
| 9 | NS | SH | Elgernon Meyer | 1 of 1 Outeniqua | 5 of 6 Lions | SA u18 2024 | Sharks CW 2024 | SA Sch 2024 |
| 26 | NS | FB | Unathi Mlotshwa | 1 of 1 Westville | 8 of 9 Bulls | Sharks CW 2024 | Sharks CW 2024 | |
| NS | NS | PR-L | Aphiwe Shelembe | 1 of 1 Michaelhouse | 9 of 9 Bulls | SA Sch A 2024 | Sharks CW 2024 | |
| NS | NS | CT-O | Gregan Jansen | 1 of 1 Duineveld | 8 of 8 Sharks | SA Sch A 2024 | ||
| NS | NS | CT/WG | Adriano Jackson | 3 of 3 Durban HS | 6 of 6 Lions |
@Snelvuur (Comment #18)
I like your analysis Snelvuur.
I also think that the Luan Gillomee experiment at 9 hasn’t worked so far. His service is inconsistent and his box kicking needs significant technical refinement. I would have liked to see him get time at 10 with Brooklyn Newman at 9. IMO BN never really set the world alight as a schoolboy scrumhalf, so this remains a position of concern. The selectors might have to cast the net a bit wider in 2026 to find the right two or three scrumhalves, or work hard to drastically improve the incumbents. If Foote can develop LG into a reliable cover option at 9/10, that would be first prize for squad flexibility.
At 10, Moyo’s prodigious boot out of hand has never been in doubt. The question marks lie in his decision-making. Everyone is hoping for a Naas Botha–type general, but at this stage we’re still seeing too much Willem de Waal. His run–pass decision-making needs the most work. That said, he remains an excellent long-term prospect for South African rugby.
Pieter van der Merwe looks short on confidence. There were glimpses of the devastating attacker we saw at school level, but the moment that lingered was when he broke the line, then seemed to hesitate with clear space ahead of him before throwing a poor pass to his right. It looked like a player who no longer fully trusts his natural instincts.
Janco Purchase is another who could have benefitted from game time at 12. It was very difficult to assess him properly at 13 given the patterns of play and limited attacking structure. His skillset is underappreciated due to his size but speed has not been something he is associated with so this should be a point of interest if he continues at outside centre.
The back three are a far cry from the glamour unit of the 2025 U20 World Rugby Champions. They were starved of opportunity in conditions completely different from the hot, dry weather in Italy earlier this year. Fullback Dylan Miller earned his caps off strong performances for Maties and WP U21s, but his untidy form on this tour will also put him down as a concern.
Up front, the forwards were good. Ollie Reid still looks like a player with a massive future — he has shades of a young John Smit. Riley Norton, meanwhile, is looking more and more like the real deal with every outing. We all know about his leadership ability, but he’s now backing it up with consistently strong performances. He’s versatile, but I’d really like to see him get more time at blindside flank.
Esuthu Mnebelele is another whom SARU will no doubt hope to fast-track into senior contention. He was solid, and it was encouraging to see his backup, Mahle Sithole — not the biggest or quickest — deliver a reliable showing as well. Liam van Wyk was unlucky due to the positional setup and the fact that only two proper games were available on tour.
The tight five were excellent. JD Hattingh is a tower of strength. In the loose forwards there are still places very much up for grabs. I don’t think any of the specialist backrow players cemented their positions during those two games.
@OomPB (Comment #17)
Gits Oom, ek weet darem nie of ek kwotas die skuld sou gee vir die feit dat ons agterlyn geen skop het nie. Ons pak was weer goed. Norton was puik (minus die een aanslaan van ‘n afskop af) en was die amptelike man van die wedstryd. Theron goed in die lynstane en Reid goed in die skrums. Gwiji was ook woelig van 8 af. Khubeka het ‘n lekker impak van die bank af gemaak. Giliomee op 9 het gelol: hy het ‘n paar goeie goed gedoen, maar sy aangee oor die algemeen was maar loopy met ‘n klomp wat te hoog of te laag was. Dit het vir ons groot baldraers en Moyo nogal onder druk gesit. Moyo lyk soos ‘n kwart van die speler wat hy vroeër die jaar was. Ek dink ons moet dringend ‘n paar ander opsies op senter probeer: beide ons senter se grootste bydrae was in ons mauls. PvdM se hantering was beter in hierdie wedstryd as laasweek, maar hy kom steeds relatief selde oor die voordeellyn en het ‘n one-on-one tackle gemis op hulle binnesenter wat direk tot ‘n drie gelei het. Purchase was bestendig op 13, maar ek dink nie hy is die antwoord daar nie, veral nie as PvdM 12 gaan speel nie. Hulle is te veel dieselfde; ons kort bietjie kreatiwiteit daar. Ek sou graag vir Badenhorst en Muller saam wou sien in die middeveld, net om te vergelyk. Agterste driehoek weer betreklik min kans gekry. Lindsey Jansen was seker die beste van die drie. Miller baie gesukkel op 15.
Goeie wen maar daar is net paar kwotas wat nog baie sal moet ontwikkel.
@TheGoose (Comment #15)
Dankie baie.
@OomPB (Comment #11)
The game is at 21:30 SA Time here –> https://plus.irishrugby.ie/events/vcmtbxjs
@Snelvuur (Comment #13)
Dankie Boet, sal verseker kyk. Verstaan die weer is sleg daai kant
@OomPB (Comment #11)
Ek verstaan dat dit op Ierland Rugby se webtuiste uitgesaai word. Weet nie of dit op hulle YouTube kanaal ook is nie. 21:30.
Julle moet ook in ag neem dat hul oudersgoepe hardloop van Okt0Sep, ons van Jan – Des. 9 maande verskil. Die NH spanne speel in die 6 nasie toernooi wat binnekort begin.
Is vandag se game dalk iewers live op TV?
Our tight phases like scrums & lineouts (a big percentage of the lineouts went to the loosies at the back) were very good, however, on the negative side the amount of penalties that were conceded at ruck time was causing us the biggest problem. A big part of a tight 5’s job is ensuring we get good quick ball from rucks, however, you need to determine which players in the team would cause the opposition hassles if they carried from 1st & 2nd receiver & who should be the guys cleaning rucks. Majority of teams rely on the closest player to the tackle situation with the aid of some tight forwards to clean the opposition out, with the carriers standing at 1st & 2nd receiver. This clearly didn’t work out this way.
We should also consider that everyone is also trying to make a name for themselves at this level which only adds to the problem cos players think that they will get noticed more if they make a break from carrying as opposed to cleaning out an opposition player from a ruck. An open siders main job is to contest the opposition ball or even slow the opposition ball down which never happened during the match as he was standing at 1st receiver a lot of the time added to some of the tight forwards that were also standing around the receiving area then how can your big carriers like Kruger & da Costa ever receive the ball in these positions.
I think a lot of this no-cleaning scenario is due to these players being standouts at their schools last year & never had to do a lot of the cleaning themselves as they were the ones who were doing most of the carrying. To me the coach needs to set out his team according to the strengths of the players he has picked & ensure that these players are in positions to cause the opposition the biggest headaches. Clearly this wasn’t done or the message wasn’t received.
@Bungee (Comment #8)
I wonder what Neill’s decision is on where he’ll play u20s. Of the loosies, it’s probably only him and Kemp that look ready to make the step-up. Jayden Brits could be in the mix at 9. Ahmed could bring some creativity at 10. Muller and Adams should be in the mix for the centres. Siyaya and Stuart probably the only outside backs. Obviously there’s lots of talent in the tight 5 too (Pratt, Proppies, Rabe, Meyer would be in the running for me, with Joubert ‘n “buiteperd”).
I think the matrics of this year will be licking their lips after the France game. (Or at least the non-tight 5 guys)
@PietPompies (Comment #6)
I think our front five did pretty well, given that the French have a really good pack (their one lock has already played three Top 14 games!). We had dominance in the scrums (bar the technical infringements) and were it not for basic errors, our maul would have scored even more tries. We also just have to keep a little perspective: this year’s u20s got knocked over by a very average Australian team in the Rugby Champs, while this French team will be a factor at the WC. Our guys will definitely improve, and we might already see some improvement against Ireland. I do think we should rely less on PvdM as a crash ball runner though: both Kruger and Da Costa are great carriers, but they were never used (in fact, they spent half the game running cleaning lines to clean on PvdM). It’s difficult to assess out outside backs at this stage, I have the sense that Jooste coming into that team should make a big difference again. But I would like to see us playing with more creative centres (the fact that we had no natural 13 in the team probably also contributed to PvdM’s struggles).
@Snelvuur, I would agree that 1 to 5 were our best players. But I wouldn’t say they were good, they were just a little better than the rest. 6,7,8 and 9 were well below par and certainly far worse than the loosies and scrummie of the champion team of 2025. And that’s why the team performed so much worse than 2025’s team – the was no link between forwards and backs. So the backline never got going – I don’t think we had more than 2 passes between rucks. Agree Moyo’s kicking was aimless. Centres got very little ball and PvdM knocked the balls they did get. Back 3 got zero opportunities. We might as well played with 15 forwards. 19,20 and 21 made no impact. In fact, in the crunch portion of the game where France sealed the win. Hattingh conceded 2 or 3 penalties in as many minutes. I differ from your assessment about the bench, they had no impact in my opinion.
But then again the French were just as poor. 4 maul tries! what a borefest!
@Beet, the Bulls u/19’s played around 12 games this season. A number of them were not very competitive – probably only about 5/6 were. The Bulls were unbeaten all season. Of those 12 games Pieter vd Merwe only missed 1 that I can recall… so he probably played 11 games this year.
But his play this season was very 1 dimensional – crash ball after crash ball after crash ball. Whether playing under a “game-plan” I wouldn’t know, but he hardly ever passed the ball. He made positive meters, probably 1 out of 4 carries. Defence is so much better as at school level, so he was much less effective than 2023&24. And at international level it will be even less. He’ll need to seriously evolve his game, he’s got the talent.
Was da Costa’s penalty for double banking or that moustache he was sporting
Agreed 9 position needs work. Might open the door for other players or perhaps some Class of 2025 boys.
Pieter vd Merwe was a super star player of 2024 and even 2023, but barely recognisable as the same confident x-factor from his 1st XV schooldays. Hopefully we see him build on where he left off his high school career.
A gr.12 parent reminded me this morning about the very few opportunities these boys get to actually play matches of rugby after school. Suggestions that if these budding pros play 7 competitive games in the whole year, they are lucky. Top SBR players who sit in classrooms for a great portion of the day and have a 6-month season can easily reach 25 competitive matches in that time.
I thought the pack – especially 1 to 5 and 8 looked pretty good. Didn’t see Maake all that much at 6 and Da Costa made a few important errors (still think he’s a great prospect). Possibly a bit biased, but I was pleasantly surprised (given that he’s down the pecking order at Maties and only played WP u19, not u21) and really impressed with Reuben Kruger at 8 – made lots of tackles and was involved in nearly every ruck in his stint on the field. Wasn’t often used as a carrier though, which was really strange (given how successful he was as a carrier in the u19 comp). Forwards from the bench also added decent energy. However, the backline was pretty poor. Distribution from 9 was all over the show (one pass was so far over Moyo’s head that it carried all the way to the centres). Moyo’s kicking was not super accurate, PvdM lost the ball in contact at least 4 times, I can’t recall Rashivaga ever getting the ball (he also slipped a few tackles if memory serves) and our back three saw the ball even less. I think there’ll be backline players on the fringes of the squad that will be itching for an opportunity – the incumbents have not really done themselves any favours.
Was probably one of the most boring games I’ve seen in a long while. Couple of guys did put their hands up, but they are certainly not a team yet. Excited to see what comes after they start playing together some more!
A very disappointing performance from our boys as we are much better than that. Playing away from home for the first time for majority of the players with a passionate home crowd of a few thousand French supporters can be difficult to manage.
As per the press conference after Mondays practice match it was said that the breakdown was a problem. On reflection after Saturdays match nothing had changed, an unnecessary amount of penalties was given away at the breakdown as we had no one doing the dirty work & cleaning the rucks. Everyone wants to carry but yet there was no one to clean & secure the ball to provide the team with momentum. Without momentum the team cannot get go-forward ball & our strike runners & big ball carriers cannot get into the game. This caused the stop start affair that we witnessed.
The ref was also pedantic disallowing a lot of advantage (one that should’ve led to a try for our winger). Our scrum was dominant yet we were the ones blown for early engagements. 2 crucial penalties went against us on the French 5 meter line for double banking was very frustrating considering that one of the best ways to defend a maul is to push on the angle towards the touchline thereby pushing the lifter/support player behind the jumpers back. How do we fix the breakdown, I would appoint main carriers in the team & the other players need to be the cleaners / supporters. In other words, in a ruck you have your main carriers at first receiver & the support players directly behind them & following them & cleaning on contact. This would ensure that the strike runners & big ball carriers are receiving the ball & have the back up behind them to ensure quick ball creating momentum.
Lets see what happens against Ireland, I’m sure there will definitely be an improvement although there will be major changes to ensure everyone gets a start on tour.
Heres to a good finish to the tour.