Junior Boks thrash Uruguay 104-7 in U20 World Championship opener

A spectacular 15-try blitz by the defending junior champions, South Africa, put the rest of the tournament on high alert.

June 28, 2026

Jacques van der Westhuizen 1 minute read

Image for illustration purposes only. Photo: 123RF/Caxton Local Media

The South African Junior Boks opened their Under-20 World Championship campaign with an emphatic 104-7 win against Uruguay in Tbilisi, Georgia, yesterday (June 27), reports The Citizen.

The Junior Boks scored 15 tries in a performance that will make every other team at the tournament take note. Coach Kevin Foote’s side are the defending champions but are without regular under-20 captain Riley Norton and fly-half Vusi Moyo, who have joined the senior Springboks squad. In addition, first-choice fly-half Yaqeen Ahmed is suspended.

This mattered little as the South Africans dominated every aspect of the match over the full 80 minutes. Uruguay occasionally threatened the South African try line, but excellent defence kept the tier-two nation from crossing until the 81st minute, when they eventually found a way over for their only score.

Foote will be pleased with his team’s performance. They took control up front early on, bossing the set-pieces and breakdowns, while the backs ran riot, with a number of players impressing. It would be unfair to single out specific players after such a comprehensive team performance where every player, including the substitutes, played their part.

The team scored a series of high-quality tries via Markus Muller, Jordan Steenkamp (3), Risima Khosa (3), Ethan Adams, Khuthadzo Rasivhaga (2), Cheswill Jooste, Jayden Brits (2), Siphosethu Mnebelele and Gert Kemp. Amongst the kickers, Alzeadon Felix kicked two conversions, Luan Giliomee slotted three and Akahlulwa Boqwana knocked over five.

The Junior Boks led 50-0 at half-time and added another 54 points in the second period. They next face hosts Georgia on Thursday (July 2) in Tbilisi.

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June 28, 2026

Jacques van der Westhuizen 1 minute read

Jacques van der Westhuyzen

Jacques manages the daily sports offering for online and print at The Citizen. He previously worked as a senior rugby and golf writer for The Star and Independent Media’s weekend print and online publications. He has travelled extensively with the Springboks, touring to Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina to cover tours and Test matches. He has also covered several World Sevens Series tournaments, including in Hong Kong. Jacques has covered well over 100 Test matches and numerous other rugby encounters across South Africa. He has also covered a number of the biggest golfing tournaments held in South Africa as well as the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He is passionate about all things sport, with athletics at the top of his great sporting loves. He has 25 years’ experience in mainstream media, as a writer, sub-editor and editor. He is a former recipient of a Sasol Springbok rugby writing award. If you give him a gap, he’ll talk all day about running, on the road and on trails. He’s run numerous marathons and also completed the famous Comrades ultra marathon in KZN. When he’s not running, you might find him on the golf course or squash court, two other favourites past-times.