The Junior Springboks’ showdown against Argentina’s Pumitas next Sunday may well determine the destiny of the inaugural Under-20 Rugby Championship after a thrilling opening round on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
First, though, the Junior Boks have to overcome the hosts who crashed to a humbling 25-6 defeat against Argentina on the competition’s opening day. Earlier in the day the Junior Boks delivered a performance head coach Bafana Nhleko declared himself proud of when they drew 13-all in the tournament’s exhilarating opener.
Despite a torrential downpour before kickoff and strong winds thereafter both teams served up a contest for the ages with New Zealand snatching a draw with a 78th minute try.
Nhleko is under no illusions the Australians are hurting from their defeat and will want to bounce back on Tuesday.
“Australia will be a different team. We have to prepare differently,” said Nhleko who would no doubt have noted how the scrum shaped the outcome of Australia’s match with Argentina.
Clawed in the scrum
The Pumitas scrummed them into submission but it is not as if the Junior Boks are without revision after their opening match.
“Look after the ball a bit better,” said Nhleko about where his team needs to sharpen up. “Being clinical at the breakdown is an area we pride ourselves in. We weren’t as sharp as we could be ... [in] our decision-making. You get on the front foot and you put a little chip through. We spoke about it all week. Please don’t do that,” sighed the coach in reference to his team’s blunder that turned their attack into defence and resultant pressure that led to New Zealand’s late equalising try.
He stressed, though, the experience is about seeking improvement and preparing young players for the rigours of senior rugby. From the outside those are objectives often overlooked. “This tournament is about us learning,” insisted Nhleko. “We could have made better decisions in attack. And some of the execution could have been better. But that is why we are here. So that they can learn. They can take some of this forward. We always talk about the pressure of playing at this level. It is not an ‘if you lose you die’ kind of thing.” Nhleko provided some sobering perspective.
Pressure absorbed
His team absorbed an inordinate amount of pressure before counter-punching to grab the lead against the Kiwis. Captain and tighthead prop Zachary Porthen bent his back in the scrum and in defence, centre Bruce Sherwood stood tall, while halfback Asad Moos and Tylor Sefoor showed great composure in trying conditions.
The downpour before kickoff put the match in doubt. “They had to sweep the stadium and use leaf-blowers,” Nhleko said about last-ditch efforts to ready the stadium. “An hour before it was not certain if the game would go ahead. We wanted to play, we have a well-balanced side. The weather made certain aspects of the game difficult.
“It was a great opportunity to gain experience in different conditions and learn going forward. Now, we must recharge and go again, with intent, on Tuesday when we play against Australia.
“We will learn and grow from this experience because Australia will present a very different challenge,” said Nhleko.
Defeat hurts
In fact, the hosts had much to rue against the Pumitas. Australia captain Toby Macpherson was keen to stress the point that their defeat hurts.
Nhleko will likely make changes as the tournament schedule requires teams in three to five-day turnarounds. Squad rotation will be essential and the competition may be decided by the survival of the fittest.
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