Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote praised his team's composure and maturity after the SA U20S secured a 33-5 victory over hosts Georgia in a bruising Junior World Championship Pool A clash in Tbilisi on Thursday evening.
While the five-tries-to-one scoreline suggested a comfortable win for the Junior Boks, Foote admitted afterwards that the match was far from straightforward.
“It wasn't a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination," said Foote after the physical encounter against the tournament hosts.
Foote credited Georgia for disrupting South Africa's rhythm and preventing the Junior Boks from fully settling into their attacking structure.
The SA U20 coach had anticipated a fiercely physical and emotional challenge from the hosts and was pleased with the way his players handled the intensity.
Three Georgian players were yellow-carded during the match, with one upgraded to a 20-minute red card at the start of the second half.
“We knew it was going to be physical and quite emotional, but I think that we stayed on the right side of the referee,” said Foote.
“That's important because it shows maturity when you don’t retaliate, and obviously when the opportunities came, we managed to capitalise on them.”
Although satisfied with collecting a second consecutive pool win, Foote stressed that there remains room for improvement as the tournament enters its decisive phase.
“It's certainly good to get a second game under our belts, but it was maybe a little wake-up call for us,” he said.
“We need to sharpen up in certain areas, and we’ll definitely look at that. However, the team kept in the fight and matched the physicality of a very determined Georgian side.”
South Africa's final pool fixture is against Wales, who have also impressed in the opening rounds of the competition, beating Georgia and Uruguay for a second spot in the group.
With a place in the semi-finals at stake, Foote believes the encounter against the Welsh will effectively be a pool decider: “From here it's knockout rugby. Wales are a good team, and they've done really well in the tournament so far, so we're expecting a big challenge. Everyone in the squad has played, and we will now turn our attention to Wales.”