Junior Boks are Champions of the South & Champions of the World

The Junior Boks won the World Championship in 2025, but on Sunday they added champions of the south to their resume.

Take a bow young men and take a bow head coach Kevin Foote and SA Rugby High Performance Manager Dave Wessels.

The ‘baby’ Boks crushed their Australian equivalent 56-17 to win the title before their final match against New Zealand.

This time last year it was Australia who had beaten South Africa in Sanzaar’s Under 20 Rugby Championship, but the South Africans dismantled Australia at the World Championships later in the year.

Sunday’s match was as important in the context of addressing last season and also owning the Rugby Championship in their own country.

They did that in the most emphatic way, just a few days after scoring 48 unanswered points against Argentina in winning 48-21.

New Zealand, who had beaten Australia in the opening round, lost 25-17 to Argentina.

The difference in quality and class between South Africa and Argentina and Australia was obvious, not just in the scoreline but in the flow of the match and in the respective performances.

A year ago Foote used the bulk of his squad in the first two matches and learned quickly that continuity is a strength in these quick-fire, short turnaround tournaments. He kept to the selection formula used so brilliantly in winning the World Championship, which was best plays when possible.

Wessels and Foote, who cut their professional coaching teeth in Australia in Super Rugby, have settled back in South Africa in the past few years, and their impact at a national age-group level has been immediate.

Powerhouse centre Ethan Adams produced a headline performance and among the backs there was cheer from SACS Old Boy Jack Benade and Jeppe Old Boy Khutadzo Rasivhaga on the wings and Wynberg Boys High Old Boy and No 10 wizard Yaqeen Ahmed.

The backs, as good as they were, profited from an outrageously strong collective effort from the forwards, with captain Riley Norton, of Paul Roos vintage, outstanding as a leader and player.

JUNIOR BOKS – Tries: Jack Benade, Wasi Vyambwera, Ethan Adams, JD Hattingh, Yaqeen Ahmed, Penalty tries (2). Conversions: Ahmed (4), Vusi Moyo (2).
AUSTRALIA u20 – Tries: Finn Mackay, Riley Whitfield, Taione Taka. Conversion: Mackay.

South Africa beat New Zealand nine months ago to win the u20 World Championship.