Junior Boks back their game to down Junior All Blacks in U20 final
The Junior Springboks are backing their expansive, attacking game to get the better of the Junior All Blacks in the World Rugby U20 Championship final at the Stadio Mario Battaglini in Rovigo, Italy on Saturday night (kick-off 8:30pm).
It has been their explosive attacking brand of rugby that has powered the Junior Boks through the competition unbeaten and into a first final since 2014, when they went down by a single point to England.
Over their current campaign the Junior Boks have run in an incredible 32 tries in just four games, picking up massive wins over Scotland (73-14), and Australia (73-17), while they also downed defending champs England (32-22) in an entertaining match, and were too strong for Argentina (48-24) in their semifinal.
Leading up to a huge final against fierce rivals the New Zealand U20s, some teams might tend to go into their shells and play a bit more conservatively in the trophy match, but coach Kevin Foote insisted that they would be sticking to their guns, as it is what had got them there.
'I think our strategy will speak (for itself) tomorrow (on Saturday). Like I've said before, the leadership around us is very good and they've got a (good) feel of the game and we'll play appropriately to that,' explained Foote.
'Making a final, you do feel extra pressure. But we don't feel like that's going to impact our team. We feel like we've played this brand of rugby and there's an accountability piece.
'So we'll keep being accountable because we've got clarity on exactly how we want to play and we'll make sure we support each other in the way we want to play. The way we've played has got us to the final. So that's how we want to continue playing.'
Junior All Black threat
Foote is however well aware of the threat of the Junior All Blacks, who beat one of the tournament favourites France U20s (34-26) in their semifinal, and said his side was prepared for whatever they will throw at them.
It is also the second meeting between the two in the past few months after the Junior All Blacks edged the Junior Bok 48-45 in the U20 Rugby Championship in SA, although it does seem like both teams have made a step up since then, leading to impressive campaigns in Italy.
'We see a lot of similarities in them. They are a team that's very passionate, they're calm, and look like they're a well settled team. They look well organised, and I think it'll be a great game,' said Foote.
'I think New Zealand's strike players were outstanding against France. When they got the opportunity they capitalised on it, and I thought they showed some really gutsy defence.
'France were entering their 22m on numerous occasions and they managed to keep them out. So they showed a lot of character and I think as that game went on and France couldn't score, New Zealand gained more confidence.
'They're a team that we know won't go away. They're a team that's backs their attack and they're pretty calm. So we have a lot of respect for them.'
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