Junior Springbok head coach Bafana Nhleko praised his players’ dedication and character as they beat Wales to finish their 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship campaign on a positive note in Cape Town on Friday.
With their pack of forwards setting the tone, the Junior Springbok regained some pride when they beat Wales by 47-31 (half-time 19-05) in their seventh-place playoff.
The South Africans scored seven tries, six of them by the forwards, with livewire No 8 Sibabalwe Mahashe and team captain Zachary Porthen (prop) scoring a brace of five-pointers each.
There were still a few soft moments, but overall, the Junior Boks can be satisfied with their performance, probably their best of the Championship, as they really made a step up after disappointing results against Argentina and England.
The Junior Boks’ direct approach laid the platform for the winning performance as they led 19-5 at the interval, and although they let in a couple of tries after the break, they continued to apply pressure with some impressive attacking rugby to finish the tournament on a winning note.
Speaking afterwards, Nhleko praised the character of the team to bounce back after two difficult weeks, which saw them ending on the losing side three times in as many games.
“We are disappointed with our campaign, but I must give credit to the boys, I thought they showed great character after a difficult time,” said Nhleko.
“They did well today, created good opportunities within the plan and our execution was also a lot better despite some errors. The players showed a lot of dedication and worked hard during the past few months together.
“I am happy we could finish with a good game, although not what we wanted but this is a moment in their careers, if not their entire lives, they have a lot to look forward to and I want to wish them well for their future careers.”
A clearly pleased Porthen said he was glad they could deliver a good display in their final outing: “It felt good to give a performance like that and to finish the tournament in a high note. I think the win is a reward for the hard work the group continued to put into our preparations.
“We wanted to show that we were better than our recent results. The results didn’t go our way the past few weeks, but I am nevertheless proud of this group,” added Porthen.