Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote praised his players for executing the game plan and playing with intensity after South Africa scored a runaway victory over Scotland in their final World Rugby U20 Championship Pool A game at the Stadio San Michele in Calvisano on Wednesday afternoon.
The Junior Boks completed the pool stage unbeaten after beating Australia, defending champions England and Scotland with bonus-point victories to finish top of their pool and top of the overall rankings and to secure their place in the semi-finals.
The South African Under-20 side delivered another clinical performance in their 73-14 victory over Scotland in the bright Italian summer sunshine, delighting the crowd with their powerful forward play and ability to attack from deep to score some brilliant tries.
Foote said afterwards he was happy with the score and proud of the team, especially since some of the players were playing the first time in the competition, as they executed the game plan and played with intensity.
“It was a mature effort and our squad is in a good place – I thought our back row was excellent around the breakdown.” Said Foote.
“They are a humble bunch, and immediately after the game in the changeroom room they were happy, but there was a real purpose amongst them to move onto the next job.
“Some of those tries were great, and most of them were as a result of the work done at the breakdown and massive effort upfront, which gave the boys such a good platform. And when they got the space in front of them, they really were exciting on the attack.
The support lines of the guys were excellent today. The whole team were just so clinical in how they went about it. Scotland were brave in the second half, and they held us up three times and stayed in the fight.”
On the question of team selection for the semi-final, Foote said: “It is a difficult problem to have and I keep on going on about the talent we have in the country. It will be a very difficult job and will be hard to leave guys out.”
Thando Biyela, the captain on the day, led by example and said afterwards it was a tough game, despite the convincing scoreline.
“It was a good win but a tough game,” said Biyela.
“I thought we started the game well and had a good opening 20 minutes, which set us up for the rest of the game. But I must give credit to Scotland, who tested us in the second half.
“Of course, there’s always room for improvement. We want to put in an 80-minute performance and play to our full potential.”
The three teams that will join the Junior Boks in the semi-finals will be confirmed once all the pool games have concluded. The playoffs are scheduled for Monday, 14 July in Viadana.