Foote pleased with Junior Boks’ composure in win against Georgia

Junior Springboks coach Kevin Foote praised his team’s composure and maturity after the SA U20 team secured a 33-5 victory against hosts Georgia in a Junior World Championship Pool A match in Tbilisi on Thursday.

The Junior Boks, who opened the competition with a 104-7 win against Uruguay on Saturday, scored five tries to one in downing the hosts.

It was a tough match for the Junior Boks, who conceded an early try, but then didn’t concede again while scoring 33 points.

It wasn’t a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination,” said Foote after the physical encounter.

He credited Georgia for disrupting South Africa’s rhythm and preventing the Junior Boks from fully settling into their attacking structure.

Three Georgian players were yellow carded during the match, with one upgraded to a 20-minute red card at the start of the second half.

“We knew it was going to be physical and quite emotional, but I think that we stayed on the right side of the referee,” said Foote.

“That’s important because it shows maturity when you don’t retaliate, and obviously when the opportunities came, we managed to capitalise on them.”

Although satisfied with collecting a second consecutive pool win, Foote stressed that there remains room for improvement as the tournament enters its decisive phase.

“It’s certainly good to get a second game under our belts, but it was maybe a little wake-up call for us,” he said.

“We need to sharpen up in certain areas, and we’ll definitely look at that. However, the team kept in the fight and matched the physicality of a very determined Georgian side.”

South Africa’s final pool fixture is against Wales, who have also impressed in the opening rounds of the competition, beating Georgia and Uruguay for a second spot in the group. That match is next Tuesday at 4pm.