The Junior Boks resumed training on Monday following a recovery day after their victory in the opening round of the World Rugby U20 Championship over Fiji at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
The SA U20 squad had a training-free day on Sunday, which was part of their recovery process, and Monday morning they resumed preparations in the build-up to their next match, against Argentina in Stellenbosch on Thursday.
They started the day with a gym session, did some strategy work and then hit the training field at Hamilton Rugby Club after lunch.
Speaking to the media immediately after the field session, Junior Bok assistant coach Lumumba Currie said they intentionally had an intensive but shorter training session of just an hour.
“The turnaround time during this tournament is short, only four days in between before you play your next game, so for us, it’s about managing the players’ load,” said Currie.
In this respect, according to Currie, the experience they gained from playing a similar format in the recent SANZAAR Under-20 Rugby Championship in Queensland, Australia, is of huge advantage for the young South Africans.
Turning their attention to Argentina, Currie mentioned that the South Americans will be out to prove a point after losing to England in their opening match on Saturday at Athlone Stadium.
The Junior Boks managed to beat the Pumitas in last year’s World Rugby U20 Championship, and earlier this year the Argentineans gave their South African opponents a huge fright before Zachary Porthen’s side could eventually secure a hard-fought win at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Queensland.
“They will be hurting after their loss to England, plus they would not want to lose to us again after coming so close in two previous games, so we are preparing for a massive battle against Argentina,” said Currie.
The Junior Boks know that Argentina will be physical and hungry for success, but Currie emphasised that they would want to impose themselves in their traditional, South African way.
“We have some plans, but we will also be physical and direct in the way South African teams like to play,” he said.
“We are glad for the win over Fiji, but we would like to see that we have taken our learnings to heart from that game, as well as our previous performance against Argentina.”