Junior Springbok head coach Bafana Nhleko praised his South African U20 squad's effort on Friday when they outplayed England to win the bronze final of the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championships, with France taking the title for a third successive time by beating Ireland in the final.
“The big thing we all saw today was the character of this group and that is a very pleasing aspect for us to witness. They grew stronger after every match we played and we left the tournament with our heads held high.”
Nhleko said they will have time to review and reflect on the campaign, which he saw as a success: “There is more than one aspect to this tournament. We also want to develop this group as part of the bigger pathway for the Springboks and I am confident that we made good progress in that regard.
“The programme is holistic in that it covers rugby, analysis, individual work-ons, strength and conditioning, academics, and off-field support. The players showed improvement in every aspect, and I would like to commend the management team under the guidance of Barry McDonald and Louis Koen for their stellar work.”