Junior Springboks assistant coach Melusi Mthethwa praised the composure and belief of the team following their clash with England. That mindset was clearly reflected in a dominant second-half performance, with winger Khuthadzo Rasivhaga scoring a spectacular hat-trick as South Africa turned pressure into points to secure a thrilling 53-37 semi-final win.
The Junior Bok wing noted that they had fully expected England to come hard at them early and knew they had to stay in the contest.
“We spoke about it during the week, and we knew England were going to come hard in that first 40 minutes,” said Rasivhaga. “We had to contain them and stay in the fight, kept backing ourselves and stayed patient. We weren’t as accurate as we wanted to be in the first half, but we started the second half much better, and we took our opportunities.”
Despite his scoring heroics, Rasivhaga was quick to credit the work of the pack and the collective effort that allowed the backline to find space: “The forwards did a fantastic job. We’ve worked hard together during the week, and they did exactly what was required. They gave us a good ball and created the platform for us to play.”