
U20 champions of the rugby world, Junior Boks are back in SA
Junior Boks captain Riley Norton shows off the U20 Championship trophy to fans at OR Tambo International airport on Monday. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The all-conquering Junior Springboks have returned home from Italy where they won the World Rugby U20 Championship on Saturday, by beating their New Zealand counterparts 23-15 in the final.
Kevin Foote's team went unbeaten in the tournament. They recorded good wins against Australia, England and Scotland in pool play and then triumphed against Argentina in the semi-finals.
It was South Africa's first win at under-20 level in 13 years.
A small group of cheering fans welcomed the players and coaches back to South Africa on Monday morning.
'This is a very proud day for rugby in South Africa, and I would like to congratulate Kevin and the team on an outstanding performance in the tournament,' said Mark Alexander, the president of the SA Rugby Union.
'The group have been welded into a formidable unit over the course of this year and many of them have the potential to go on to higher honours, I am sure.
'Their victory is a tribute to all the hard work done at high school level by educators and coaches, and at our provincial unions from whom these players are drawn.
'Appointing a head coach in Kevin, who has franchise experience, was also an important part of the progress this group have shown, and I would like to commend him, his backroom team, and the High Performance Department at SA Rugby for what they have achieved in such a short space of time.'
Fans interact with Junior Boks players at their arrival in the country on Monday morning. Picture: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
Play at a higher level
Junior Boks flyhalf Vusi Moyo finished the tournament as the top points' scorer with 63, while Haashim Pead scored six tries, placing him second for the most five-pointers behind Georgia's Mikheili Shioshvili (7).
Foote said after the final in Rovigo on Saturday, a number of the under-20 players should now be considered for senior duty in the Currie Cup and possibly even the United Rugby Championship next season.
'I actually think quite a lot of them could make the step up. Once you put these guys in the right environment they will flourish,' said Foote.
'This is such a talented group and in the right environment they will kick on. I think you are going to see a lot of these names going forward for South African rugby and in the URC.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
SA20 Auction: Big names join SA20 as blockbuster auction looms
After winning the SA20 with MICT, Kagiso Rabada is off to Pakistan to play for the Proteas in the ICC Champions Trophy. Photo: Sportzpics The defending Champions, MI Cape Town, have added Nicholas Pooran to their squad, roping in the left-handed batter from the Durban's Super Giants. Allah Ghazanfar, the latest addition to the long list of Afghanistan's mystery spinners, also joins the SA20 for the first time. He has signed with last season's runners-up Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC). Among the players who have been pre-signed for the upcoming season are West Indies all-rounders Andre Russell (Pretoria Capitals) and Sunil Narine (Durban's Super Giants), both who have sparkling T20 careers. This season, the SA20 barely clashes with any T20 leagues, meaning the world's top T20 cricketers are available to grace the South African cricket with their presence and skills. OVER the past three seasons, the SA20 has grown in leaps and bounds, and the upcoming fourth edition promises to be even bigger with some of the biggest names in franchise T20 cricket having committed to the league already. Proteas stars Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde and Corbin Bosch, along with former New Zealand quick Trent Boult, have kept their spots in the Newlands-based side. In other exciting news, heading into the auction, the two-time SA20-winning captain Aiden Markram has opted to enter the lucrative auction, opting not to take the pre-signing offer that the Sunrisers offered. Markram led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) to three consecutive SA20 finals, winning the first two editions before going down to MI Cape Town in the previous edition of the competition. The 30-year-old heads into the auction with the chance to play for a different franchise in the fourth edition of the tournament after his heroics for the 'Orange Army'. However, with the SA20 having introduced the Right to Match strategy this season, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape could retain the Proteas T20I captain by matching the winning bid. The Season 4 Auction is set to be a blockbuster event after the six franchises laid down an early squad marker with the announcement of the pre-signed and retained players for the upcoming SA20 campaign. Each of the teams were permitted a maximum of six retained or pre-signed players, comprising of a maximum of three South African and three overseas players during the player retention window, which closed on July 18. The teams also strategically completed their six Wildcard signings, with all the focus now on the remaining slots and the collective maximum purse of R131 million to be spent on the 84 available slots at the auction on September 9 in Johannesburg. For Season 4, a wildcard player could be any overseas player or a South African player who was part of the team's squad in Season 3. A complete list of players and remaining salary cap follows: Durban's Super Giants (R29.5 million) *Sunil Narine, *Noor Ahmad, *Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen (Wildcard) Joburg Super Kings (R21.5 million) Faf du Plessis, *James Vince, *Akeal Hosein, *Richard Gleeson, Donovan Ferreira (Wildcard) MI Cape Town (R11.5 million) Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, *Rashid Khan, *Trent Boult, *Nicholas Pooran, Kagiso Rabada (Wildcard) Paarl Royals (R14.5 million) Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin, *Mujeeb Ur Rahman, *Sikandar Raza, Rubin Hermann (Wildcard) Pretoria Capitals (R32.5 million) *Will Jacks, *Sherfane Rutherford, *Andre Russell (Wildcard) Sunrisers Eastern Cape (R21.5 million) Tristan Stubbs, *Allah Ghazanfar, *Adam Milne, *Jonny Bairstow, Marco Jansen (Wildcard) *Indicates overseas players.

The Herald
an hour ago
- The Herald
Boks name power-packed squad for Oz Tests
A potent 37-man Springbok squad brimming with power among the forwards and loaded with explosive pace in the back division has been named to face Australia in the Rugby Championship. The squad includes 24 World Cup winners and five players who made their debuts during the Castle Lager series, where the Boks scored comfortable wins over Italy and Georgia. Three members of the triumphant Junior Springbok World Rugby U20 Championship squad — Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste and Haashim Pead — have been invited to train with the group during a conditioning camp which starts in Johannesburg on Sunday. The five players who earned their first Test caps in July are Ethan Hooker (utility back), Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Boan Venter (both props), Marnus van der Merwe (hooker) and Cobus Wiese (utility forward). The squad, to face the Wallabies in Johannesburg on August 16 and a week later in Cape Town on August 23, includes 20 forwards and 17 backline players. 'It's always challenging to reduce the squad, especially given how the expanded group of players put up their hands during the recent series,' coach Rassie Erasmus said. 'But we always said we would select a smaller, more manageable squad during the Rugby Championship. 'This group includes several experienced players and a few younger guys who grabbed their chances in the last few Tests, so we are pleased with this squad for the first two matches. 'We have also informed the players on standby what our plans are and what we expect from them, so that all of them are ready to step up if needed.' 'We probably have three players who can cover each position, which is important in this competition, so it was a thorough process to narrow down the group to 36 players. 'One of our key pillars as a team is to build squad depth, and there is no better way to see what some of the younger players are capable of than to expose them to some of the top teams in the world.' Erasmus said everyone was proud of the Junior Boks for winning the World Rugby U20 Championship. 'We were thrilled to see the talent coming through the junior ranks, so we opted to invite three of them to join us to expose them to our structures and the standards required at top international level,' he said. 'We believe this camp will benefit them significantly and we are excited to see how they slot in and train with us. 'Unfortunately, we had to limit the size of the squad to ensure maximum outputs and more individual attention at our training sessions, so though more players could have been invited, we could only select three.' Bath prop Thomas du Toit has been granted a compulsory two-week rest as agreed with the Gallagher Premiership club, though he is eligible to be called up at any stage should the need arise, while No 8 Jasper Wiese is serving a four-week suspension, ruling him out of this squad. A handful of players, in turn, have been released to their respective franchises to build up game time in the Carling Currie Cup competition, though a few of them have been placed on standby for the Wallaby Tests. The standby players are Lukhanyo Am (centre), who missed the July Tests due to a knee niggle, Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf), Makazole Mapimpi (wing), Salmaan Moerat (lock), Evan Roos (No 8), Neethling Fouche (prop) and Vincent Tshituka (flanker). The squad is: Forwards: Lood de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jean-Luc du Preez, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, Marnus van der Merwe, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese. Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Jesse Kriel, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux, Manie Libbok, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Edwill van der Merwe, Morne van den Berg, Grant Williams, Damian Willemse. The Herald


The South African
2 hours ago
- The South African
Rankings: Where Springboks stand before Rugby Championship
After the July internationals, the All Blacks have made up plenty of ground on the Springboks in the world rugby rankings, with just 0.72 points separating the arch-rivals. As the Springboks now head towards their Rugby Championship title, there will be a number of goals they will want to achieve, but the importance of maintaining prime position in the rankings should not be underestimated. Scheduled for December, the 2027 World Cup draw will be based on the World Rugby Men's Rankings at the end of the November international window, and so the Springboks will be desperately hoping to still be at the top by that stage. You can see exactly how the rankings are calculated by clicking here. As at 24 July 2025 Rank Country Points 1 South Africa 92.78 2 New Zealand 92.06 3 Ireland 89.83 4 France 87.82 5 England 87.64 6 Australia 82.08 7 Argentina 82.05 8 Scotland 81.57 9 Fiji 80.50 10 Italy 77.77 11 Georgia 74.69 12 Wales 74.05 13 Samoa 72.48 14 Japan 72.29 15 Spain 69.12 16 USA 68.45 17 Uruguay 67.52 18 Portugal 66.44 19 Tonga 65.46 20 Chile 63.83 Forwards: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Jean-Luc du Preez (Bordeaux Begles), Eben Etzebeth (Sharks), Vincent Koch (Sharks), Siya Kolisi (Sharks), Wilco Louw (Vodacom Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche (Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Vodacom Bulls), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Wiese (Vodacom Bulls). Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks), Aphelele Fassi (Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers), Ethan Hooker (Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Willie le Roux (Vodacom Bulls), Manie Libbok (Hanazono Kintetsu Liners), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), Cobus Reinach (Stormers), Edwill van der Merwe (Sharks), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Grant Williams (Sharks), Damian Willemse (Stormers). Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.