Head coach Kevin Foote and skipper Riley Norton say the Junior Springboks can take key lessons from a tough home tournament for the U20 World Championship next month.
The South Africans fell short in their bid to capture The U20 Rugby Championship in the republic when they lost 48-45 to New Zealand at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha yesterday.
The hosts beat Argentina in fine style their opener, before going down to Australia and New Zealand. But Foote said the players can take huge positives from their courageous effort against the young Kiwis.
“There are a lot of positives to take from that performance; we are on a massive journey together and I’ve only met Riley Norton and the guys back in November, so we are definitely working hard on our game model and principles which everyone understands now,” he told reporters post-match.
“From a character and leadership perspective, we are in a good place, and the lessons we learnt will be of huge benefit as we approach the U20 Championship next month in Italy.
“I think Melusi (Mthethwa, the team’s backline coach) has done a great job in terms of our attack and I really feel that the players have clarity on how we want to play,” Foote added.
“We played some exciting and brilliant attacking rugby during the tournament and just to hear the crowd get behind us when we started to light it up was exceptional.
“We know we are not the finished product, and we know we have a lot of work to do, but I do think our attack has come a long way and the guys are loving the way we are attacking.”
Foote said the SA U20 coaching staff are keen to send some players back to their provincial unions to play in the SA Rugby U21 Cup competition: “We will take it case by case, but some players will go back to their provinces to play in the U21 competition.
“It’s a strong competition and the players are well-coached there, and we are keen for them to keep going. There will be some whose load we will have to manage, but we will do our medicals and take it case by case.”
Norton, who started all three of the Junior Boks’ games of the competition, praised the players’ efforts, on and off the field.
“To have played these high-pressure games against such quality opposition before the World Champs is going to be vital for us,” he said.
“The lessons we learnt, the connections and relationships we have managed to build, not only on the field but off-field as well, and the trust we managed to create, are extremely important to us.”
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