South Africa national under-20 rugby union team

South Africa
Union South African Rugby Union
Nickname(s) Junior Boks, Baby Boks
Founded 2008
Coach(es) Dawie Theron
Captain(s) Hanro Liebenberg
League(s) World Rugby Under 20 Championship
2015 3rd
Team kit
Change kit
First international
v United States (2008)
Largest win
108–18 v United States
Largest defeat
7–36 v New Zealand
World Cup
Appearances 8 (First in 2008)
Best result Champions (2012)
Official website
www.sarugby.co.za/default.aspx?category=sarugby%2Fu20&leagueid=2484
Union website
www.sarugby.co.za
Current season
← 2015 2017 →

The South Africa national under-20 rugby union team (nicknamed the Junior Boks or the Baby Boks) are South Africa's junior team at national level. They have been competing in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship (formerly the IRB Junior World Championship) since its inception in 2008. This Under-20 tournament replaced the previously-held Under-19 and Under-21 Rugby World Championships.

History

Summary

South African World Rugby Under-20 Championship summary
Year Pool stages Semi Final Placing
P W D L PF PA
2008 3 3 0 0 173 19 Lost N/A 3rd
2009 3 3 0 0 144 40 Lost N/A 3rd
2010 3 2 0 1 148 56 Lost N/A 3rd
2011 3 2 0 1 95 52 N/A N/A 5th
2012 3 2 0 1 99 41 Won Won Champions
2013 3 3 0 0 154 43 Lost N/A 3rd
2014 3 3 0 0 115 37 Won Lost 2nd
2015 3 3 0 0 119 26 Lost N/A 3rd

2008

South Africa took part in the inaugural edition of the competition in 2008 held in Wales, where they were drawn in Pool B. They beat the United States 108–18 in their very first game.[1] A 72–3 victory over Scotland[2] and a 16–11 win against Samoa[3] saw them top the pool to qualify for the semi-final stages. They lost their semi-final match 18–26 to England,[4] but returned to winning ways with a 43–18 win over hosts Wales in the third-place play-off match.[5]

2009

South Africa were placed in Pool C of the 2009 competition held in Japan. They emulated their 2008 form, winning all three of their pool matches – they beat Fiji 36–10,[6] Italy 65–3[7] and France 43–27[8] to finish top of the pool. They again lost to England in the semi-finals (losing 21–40),[9] but again bounced back by winning the third-place play-off match, this time beating Australia 32–5.[10]

2010

A 40–14 victory over Tonga[11] in the opening match of Pool C in the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship held in Argentina was followed up by a 73–0 victory over Scotland,[12] before South Africa suffered their first ever pool stage defeat in the competition, losing 35–42 to Australia.[13] Although finishing in second position in the pool, they still qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of having the best record of the second-placed teams across the three pools. They were eliminated 7–36 by New Zealand in the semi-finals,[14] but managed to win the third-place play-off for the third year in a row, avenging their previous semi-final exists at the hands of England by beating them 27–22.[15]

2011

Victories in South Africa's first two matches at the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship held in Italy – beating Scotland 33–0[16] and Ireland 42–26[17] – were followed by a defeat at the hands of England, losing 20–26[18] to finish second in the pool and failing to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time. Instead, they went into the fifth-placed play-off series, where a 57–15 win over pool rivals Ireland[19] and a 104–17 win over Fiji[20] saw them finish the competition in fifth spot.

2012

South Africa hosted the tournament in 2012, but the hosts got off to a bad start, losing 19–23 to Ireland in their first match.[21] However, they recovered to beat Italy 52–3[22] and previously-unbeaten England 28–15[23] to finish top of the log. They easily dispatched Argentina in the semi-final, winning 35–3,[24] before beating New Zealand 22–16 in the final in Cape Town,[25] winning the competition for the first time and ending the latter's four-year reign as champions.[26]

2013

South Africa won all three their pool matches at the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship held in France; they beat the United States 97–0,[27] England 31–24[28] and hosts France 26–19[29] to top their pool to qualify to the semi-finals. They lost their semi-final match 17–18 to Wales[30] before winning their fourth third-place play-off match in six seasons, beating New Zealand 41–34.[31]

2014

In the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship held in New Zealand, South Africa beat Scotland 61–5,[32] hosts New Zealand 33–24[33] and Samoa 21–8[34] to finish top of their pool. They again met New Zealand in the semi-finals and beat them again, this time by a 32–25 scoreline,[35] to qualify to their second final. However, they lost the final 20–21 to England to finish the competition in second spot.[36]

2015

For 2015, the IRB Junior World Championship was rebranded as the World Rugby Under 20 Championship. South Africa started the competition with a 33–5 win against hosts Italy[37] and recorded a 40–8 win against Samoa[38] and a 46–13 win over Australia[39] in their remaining pool matches to finish top of Pool B to qualify for the semi-finals with the best record pool stage of all the teams in the competition. They came up against an England side that beat them in the 2014 final and were eliminated by the same opponents again, losing 20–28 to be eliminated from the competition.[40] They restored some pride by winning their third-place play-off match against France 31–18 to win the bronze medal.[41]

Players

For a complete list of every player to have represented the South Africa Under-20 team, see List of South Africa national under-20 rugby union team players.

Current squad

The following players were named in a 36-man provisional squad prior to the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship:[42][43]

South Africa Under-20 provisional squad

Props

  • Kwenzo Blose
  • Wikus Groenewald
  • Jaco Holtzhausen
  • Nicolaas Oosthuizen
  • Carlo Sadie
  • Franco van den Berg

Hookers

  • Tango Balekile
  • Ruan Brits
  • Jan-Henning Campher

Locks

  • Aston Fortuin
  • Rhyno Herbst
  • Eli Snyman
  • Hendré Stassen
  • Eduard Zandberg

Loose Forwards

  • Zane Davids
  • Denzel Hill
  • Junior Pokomela
  • Luigy van Jaarsveld
  • Ernst van Rhyn
  • Kuyenseka Xaba

Scrum-Halves

Fly-Halves

Centres

Wingers

  • Mosolwa Mafuma
  • S'busiso Nkosi
  • Duncan Saal
  • Edwill van der Merwe

Fullbacks

  • Curwin Bosch
  • Morné Joubert
  • Eduan Keyter
  • Keanu Vers
(c) Denotes team captain.

Previous squads

The following players played at previous editions of the World Rugby Under 20 Championship:

(c) denotes team captain.

External links

References

  1. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 108-18 USA". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 72-3 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 16-11 Samoa". South African Rugby Union. 14 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 26-18 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Wales 18-43 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Fiji 10-36 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Italy 3-65 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – France 27-43 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 21-40 England". South African Rugby Union. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Australia 5-32 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 21 June 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  11. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 40-14 Tonga". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 73-0 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 35-42 Australia". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – New Zealand 36-7 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 22-27 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  16. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 33-0 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Ireland 26-42 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  18. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 26-20 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  19. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 57-15 Ireland". South African Rugby Union. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  20. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Fiji 17-104 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  21. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 19-23 Ireland". South African Rugby Union. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  22. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 52-3 Italy". South African Rugby Union. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  23. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 28-15 England". South African Rugby Union. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  24. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Argentina 3-35 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 17 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  25. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – New Zealand 16-22 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  26. ↑ "Junior Boks end Baby Blacks' rein". ESPN Scrum. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  27. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 97-0 USA". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  28. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 31-24 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  29. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – France 19-26 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  30. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17-18 Wales". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  31. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 41-34 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  32. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 61-5 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  33. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – New Zealand 24-33 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  34. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Samoa 8-21 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  35. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 32-25 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  36. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 21-20 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  37. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Italy U20 5-33 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  38. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 40-8 Samoa U20". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  39. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 46-13 Australia U20". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  40. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 20-28 England U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  41. ↑ "SA Rugby Match Centre – France U20 18-31 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  42. ↑ "Large group invited to Junior Springbok trials camp". South African Rugby Union. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  43. ↑ "Theron trims Junior Bok squad". SA Rugby Magazine. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
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