Following a lacklustre Under 20 Rugby Championship on home soil, to being unbeaten at the World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Italy – the Junior Boks are favourites to claim their first title since 2012.
South Africa have a good record of making it to the playoffs, but a poor record from there. In 14 tournaments they’ve made the last four on 12 occasions, finishing third seven times and only twice reaching the final – winning in 2012 and finishing runners-up in 2014.
The Junior Boks go into Monday’s semi-final against Argentina having swept the floor with Australia (73-17) and Scotland (73-14), as well as shutting out defending champions England (32-22) in what was meant to have been the toughest pool at the tournament.
But South Africa claimed a full house of points and boast two players in the top 3 points scorers in the competition so far.
Halfbacks Vusi Moyo and Haashim Pead are first and third respectively with 34 and 25 points. Pead may be the more impressive player with his points coming from five tries.
Step, step, go
Haashim Pead with a stunning solo effort 🤌
#WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/3vqAnLGXa2
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 4, 2025
Fun fact: Pead has broken Antoine Dupont’s record for the most metres gained by a scrumhalf at a World Rugby U20 Championship, racking up 232 metres from just 15 carries during the pool stage – the most by a No 9 since Opta began recording data for the tournament. The only other scrumhalf to surpass 200 metres was France’s Dupont, who made 227 in 2016.
The exciting winger Jaco Williams is just outside of the top 10 on 15 points courtesy of three tries.
The SA U20s are one of three southern hemisphere teams in the world championship semi-finals, alongside Argentina and New Zealand, who face France in the first semi-final at 6pm. The Junior Boks kick off at 8.30pm.
Photo: Sabrina Conforti / World Rugby
Kevin Foote has named a powerful #JuniorBoks lineup for their #WorldRugbyU20s semi-final against Argentina on Monday, opting for a 6-2 split on the bench – more here: https://t.co/i6qVCEgM8h
#JourneyToGreatness pic.twitter.com/DANE5NXcwE
— SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) July 12, 2025
The post Junior Boks’ revival promises silverware appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.