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The Junior Springboks have quickly shifted their focus to defending champs England, after crushing the Aussie U20s in their tournament opener.
Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton says they still need to improve if they are to challenge England, after they destroyed Australia in their World Rugby U20 Championship opener on Sunday. Picture: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton said the job isn’t done and that they would enjoy the win, but prepare for the next battle, after they opened their World Rugby U20 Championship campaign with a 73-17 mauling of Australia in Calvisano, Italy on Sunday.
The Junior Boks were a class apart as they ran rampant, outscoring their Southern Hemisphere rivals 11 tries to three, as they got their world champs campaign off to a perfect start.
Norton however wasn’t completely satisfied, and highlighted that they would have to be even better if they wanted to challenge tournament defending champs England in their second pool match on Friday.
“It definitely wasn’t the perfect performance. Australia played some great rugby there at the end, and there are definitely things for us to improve on. But I am proud of the gents,” said Norton.
“We will enjoy the victory, but then its straight back to work. It’s only a five day turnaround and we have to get ready for England who are a great team.
“So back to the drawing board, and let’s get ready for England. We have to be close to our best (to beat them). They are a great team, well coached and winners from last year.
“It is a great rivalry we have with them. We love playing against England, we love the physical battle, it is very set piece dominated. So we are going to be ready for it and are really excited.”
Positive start
It is however an extremely positive start for the Junior Boks, especially after they finished third in the U20 Rugby Championship (TRC) on home soil just a few months ago, where they lost to champions New Zealand and thre a 17-0 halftime lead away in going down 29-24 to Australia.
Norton admitted that they felt they had a point to prove after their struggles in the TRC, and that he was proud of the improvements they have made since then.
“It (the loss) definitely did play a part. We spoke about it a lot. Australia played well (in the TRC), but we never like losing, especially at home in front of our fans. So it was something that fuelled us and everything worked out,” said Norton.
“What pleased me most (in this game) was the way we managed to hold onto the ball for numerous phases and that we could take it coast to coast. I think from the TRC that was something we really wanted to improve on.
“Our outside backs were just unbelievable. You see when they have a one on one, they can score from anywhere. So that was the best thing. But also our set piece, us as South Africans that’s something that we pride ourselves on and I think it fired as well.”
