Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote still in 'pinch me, wake me up' land after historic U20 triumph
Image: Maurilio Boldrini / World Rugby
Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote says he must still pinch himself at what the team achieved as they arrived back in South Africa with the World Rugby Under-20 Championship title.
The Baby Boks defeated the Junior All Blacks 25-13 in the final on Saturday in Italy to claim a second title after years of coming close. Foote and his fellow coaches led the team to a first victory in 13 years.
The coach said on Monday, as the team arrived back home, that the feeling of what they've achieved, still comes and goes, although it has not fully sunk in yet.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
'Sometimes the feeling is you can't believe it, and then you settle down and come here and see the people. It is special,' Foote said.
'For now, it doesn't feel real. It feels like a dream. We didn't focus too much on not having won the tournament in a while, because that adds pressure. We had a tough pool and that was enough pressure.
'There was England, the defending champions, we had to beat. Australia beat us in the U20 Rugby Championship, and Scotland were three points behind England in the Six Nations U20. We wanted to ensure that our pool games went well.
Cheering fans flocked to the airport to welcome home the triumphant #JuniorBoks on Monday, with Mr Mark Alexander saying: 'Many of them have the potential to go on to higher honours, I am sure' - more here: https://t.co/irllJf7QEb 🏆#JourneyToGreatness #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/vfnm1Soyh7 — SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) July 21, 2025
'Our last message before that final to them was if you can be anything in the world, be yourself, and they played incredible rugby.'
Foote said the Southern Hemisphere tournament prepped them well for what awaited in Italy. While they lost to teams like the Junior All Blacks and the Aussies in Gqeberha, it allowed them to experiment with team selections to fine-tune their best squad for the U20 Championship.
Even when the Junior Boks kept changing their players for certain matches, the previous experience of playing together ensured they didn't lose continuity during the tournament.
The Junior Bok coach is hopeful that his players can kick on from this major victory to make a name for themselves on the senior stage. Plenty of them will receive an opportunity during the upcoming Currie Cup for their respective franchises.
The Junior Boks get their try ⚡
Haashim Pead spots the space and Jaco Williams finishes it off 💪💪#SSRugby | #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/QhNiNWB7Ht — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 19, 2025
Speedsters Cheswill Jooste and Demitre Erasmus are signed up for the Bulls, while Junior Bok captain Riley Norton and centre Gino Cupido could feature for Western Province somewhere in the next couple of weeks.
'My hope for these players now is that they stay in the fight. They all have dreams to play for the Springboks. But the reality is that there will be a lot of players who never get the opportunity. They also have dreams to play in the United Rugby Championship.
'They must just keep believing in what they have done. If they do that, there will be plenty of names you'll see in the future.'
Hashtags

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

The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Saru's Rian Oberholzer: Springbok rugby's future in good hands after U20 success
The Junior Springboks' victory in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship shows that the game is thriving at every level in the country, according to SA Rugby Union (Saru) chief Rian Oberholzer. As the Springboks have won the last two Rugby World Cup titles, the fact that the junior side is following in their footsteps means the long-term future of the game is in good hands. It was also the first time in 13 years that an SA side has triumphed in the Under-20 showpiece event. Oberholzer said a lot of work went on behind the scenes which has led to the strong position of SA rugby. 'The restructuring helped a lot. We focused solely on the structures at the juniors [u18 and u20s] and women's rugby. Bringing in the right people, like Johan Ackerman and Kevin Foote, made a huge difference,' Oberholzer told 'We looked at what the DNA of South African rugby is, and it starts at U18 level. You can't have one system at U20s and something entirely different at the senior level. Dave Wessels and the high-performance team worked hard to ensure the U20s play like the Springboks.' 'We're working quietly but seriously on launching a six-team professional women's league. We've done the same with coaching structures as we did with the juniors [appointment of Swys de Bruin], and now we're looking to give more women a platform to compete at a high level.' Riley Norton skippered the SA Under-20 rugby team to the title over the weekend. It was not the first taste of international success for the young lock, as he was also part of the SA Under-19 Cricket World Cup last year, which made it to the semi-finals of the tournament. Luckily for Saru, Norton has already chosen to pursue rugby instead of cricket. @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport


The Citizen
3 hours ago
- The Citizen
Junior Springbok stars set to light up the Currie Cup
The Sharks, Western Province, Bulls and Lions have all named Junior Springbok stars in their squads for the 2025 Currie Cup competition. A number of players who were part of the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship winning Junior Springboks squad could light up the country's oldest rugby competition, the Currie Cup, when it kicks off around South Africa this weekend. Captain Riley Norton's charges became the second South African U20 side in history to lift the prestigious trophy when they beat fierce rivals, the Junior All Blacks, in the final last weekend, emulating the class of 2012, who beat New Zealand that year on home soil. Having now arrived back in South Africa after the three week long tournament in Italy, the players may not receive much rest before they are given the chance to make an immediate step up into senior rugby in the Currie Cup. All of SA's four main franchises, who all but two (signed to the Cheetahs) of the Junior Bok squad are contracted to, have announced their squads for the competition, with the Bulls naming six junior world championship winners in their group, the Sharks and Western Province eight each, and the Lions four. First round rest Most of the teams are unlikely to pick their Junior Bok stars for round one, as they played the final last Saturday and only arrived back in South Africa on Monday, so have yet to train fully with their respective franchises, while the players who featured a lot during the tournament will also need a bit of a break. But it will be interesting to see how many Junior Boks can now make a splash in the Currie Cup and later push for places in their respective franchise URC sides when that kicks off in September. A few Junior Bok players have already made their URC debuts, but if the talent that was shown at the U20 showpiece event is anything to go by, many more of them will get a chance over the coming season. If I had to pick two players from each major franchise to keep an eye on in the Currie Cup, I'd go with Norton and Xola Nyali at Western Province, Bathobele Hlekani and Vusi Moyo at the Sharks, Siphosethu Mnebelele and Cheswill Jooste at the Bulls, and Haashim Pead and Gilermo Mentoe at the Lions.


The Citizen
7 hours ago
- The Citizen
Rassie Erasmus plays it very safe with first Springbok Rugby Champs squad
There are no surprises in the Boks' squad for the two matches against Australia. The Springboks will next be in action against Australia when the Rugby Championship gets underway in a few weeks' time. Picture: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus sprung a bit of a surprise by playing it very safe with his first squad of probably three for their defence of their Rugby Championship title, with the competition kicking off next month. Erasmus has been known for his unpredictability over the past few years, but didn't make any big changes from the group that took part in the mid-year Tests, essentially just reducing his squad for the Rugby Champs. The big omissions from the squad are experienced scrumhalf Faf de Klerk and wing Makazole Mapimpi, with upcoming stars Morne van den Berg and Edwill van der Merwe backed with a strong look to the future. Morne van den Berg appears to now be a regular in the Bok set-up. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images Omissions As usual a premium has also been placed on utility value as Salmaan Moerat, who has captained the Boks a number of times over the last few years, has been left out along with Evan Roos, a specialist No 8. Cobus Wiese, who is primarily a four lock, but was backed at eighthman against Georgia and can cover seven and six, gets Erasmus' backing for the Rugby Champs. The only other players to drop out of the squad that was picked for the invitational Barbarians game and incoming series against Italy and Georgia, are Jasper Wiese, due to suspension, Thomas du Toit, due to resting protocols, Jean Kleyn, due to injury, and Neethling Fouche and Vincent Tshituka, who made their respective Bok debuts in the last month. Moerat, Roos, Fouche and Tshituka have all been released to their franchises and are available for the Currie Cup, though they have been included on the standby list along with De Klerk and Lukhanyo Am, who missed the mid-year Tests with a knee injury, and all can be called up at short notice if needed. Lukhanyo Am is on standby, after failing to get into the Bok squad this season. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images Junior Bok stars Where Erasmus has continued to think outside the box is bringing in young and inexperienced players who have recently shone, to give them a taste of Springbok rugby, and this time has included three Junior Bok stars Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste and Haashim Pead in the training squad. All three were immense in the Junior Boks' World Rugby U20 Championship winning campaign, with scrumhalf Pead electrifying in scoring six tries, outside back Jooste brilliant in all round play, and utility forward Hlekani an absolute battering ram. All three will train with the Boks' senior squad for a week or two, before being released back to their franchises, and being available to play in the Currie Cup. Due to the injury absence of men such as props Gerhard Steenekamp and Ntuthuko Mchunu, Erasmus has retained rookie Boan Venter after a solid debut against Georgia and could be given a run at some stage against the Wallabies. The Boks are off this week, but return to training from Sunday. The Boks' first match in the Rugby Championship, against Australia, is on 16 August.