The Junior Springboks‘ defence of their Junior World Championship title is still on track after they qualified for the semi-finals with a 52-33 victory (half-time 26-14) over Wales in Tbilisi on Tuesday.
They would be the first to admit, though, that there is work to be done.
Although the SA u20s outscored the Welsh by eight tries to five in the Georgian capital to top Pool A, they will have to work at eradicating some basic errors before their semi-final next Monday.
After a very slow start, in which Wales scored two converted tries in the opening 10 minutes, the Junior Boks started to find their rhythm and played with more confidence.
They scored four great tries without reply before the break, but a couple of errors due to over-eagerness in the Welsh red zone cost them more points, while some weak moments of defence also allowed Wales to stay in the contest.
Hendré Schoeman went over after a brilliant scrum by the Junior Boks to open the scoring in the 12th minute, and five minutes later, Ethan Adams also crossed the whitewash. The big centre chipped into space, Yaqeen Ahmed collected and then passed back to Adams, who raced clear. Both were converted, and parity was restored at 14-14.
Wales was feeling the pressure, and when Siphosethu Mnebelele was driven over in the 26th minute, South Africa took the lead.
When Wales tighthead prop Jac Pritchard was sin-binned after half an hour, the SA u20s pounced with Heinrich Theron going over for their second try from a driving maul to make it 26-14 at the break.
Risima Khosa scored a superb try out on the right wing early in the second half to push the Junior Boks past 30 points, but when Cheswill Jooste was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-down, Wales pounced.
Will Evans went over, but his try was ruled out by the Television Match Official (TMO). Minutes later, Osian Lewis breached the SA u20 defence.
Liam van Wyk clawed one back for the Junior Boks when he was mauled over the try line, but Tom Bowen soon scored Wales’ fourth try, again with the South African defence not razor sharp. The conversion was wide, leaving the score at 38-26.
Van Wyk then scored almost a carbon copy of his first try to settle some Junior Bok nerves, with Ahmed’s conversion giving coach Kevin Foote’s side a 19-point lead with 18 minutes to go.
Mnebelele, who came back onto the field for Van Wyk, got his second, also from a lineout drive, in the 67th minute, and an Adams’ conversion made it 52-26.
Things became scrappy after that try, and Mbebelele was yellow-carded after an incident at a ruck. That left Wales with a numerical advantage, which increased when Van Wyk could not return, leading to uncontested scrums. Lewis Edwards made that advantage count, scoring Wales’ fifth try to push them past 30.
Scorers:
Junior Springboks 52 (26) – Tries: Hendre Schoeman, Ethan Adams, Siphosethu Mnebelele (2), Heinrich Theron, Risima Khosa, Liam van Wyk (2). Conversions: Yaqeen Ahmed (6).
Wales U20 33 (14) – Tries: Caio James, Steffan Emanuel, Osian Lewis, Tom Bowen, Lewis Edwards. Conversions: Carwyn Jones (4).
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