Junior Boks power to victory over Los Pumitas

The Junior Springboks lit up the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium with a feast of sizzling first-half tries when they beat Argentina 48-21 in their opening match at the Sanzaar U20 Rugby Championship tournament on Monday.

Though they lost momentum in the second half, it was an enterprising start for the next generation of Bok stars at the second edition of the four-team tournament to be held in Gqeberha.

In the opening game of a double-header, defending champions New Zealand beat Australia 34-29 in an entertaining encounter to set the tone for the late game.

Backed by a partisan 11,000 crowd, the ruthless Baby Boks showed the sort of form that saw them crowned world champions in 2025 during a commanding first-half display.

The Boks, who led 36-0 at half-time, outscored Argentina by eight tries to three.

SA made a blistering start when dynamic centre Ethan Adams powered his way through Argentina’s defence to crash over for the first try in the second minute.

The Baby Boks continued to swarm onto the attack, and the pressure paid off when scrumhalf Hendre Schoeman was over for SA’s second try after eight minutes.

Flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed made no mistake with the conversion to give the Boks a handy early 12-0 lead.

No stone will be left unturned to ensure the Junior Boks’ preparations for the Sanzaar U20 Rugby Championship in Gqeberha from April 27 to May 9 are spot on, says assistant coach Lumumba Currie. The tournament will feature the best young talent from SA, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, with big crowds expected to attend matches played at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on three match days (April 27 and May 3 and 9). The Junior Boks took another significant step towards the Rugby Championship when they engaged in a high-intensity training session against the Boland Cavaliers in hot and humid conditions in Wellington last week. A gruelling session against the seasoned Cavaliers provided a stark contrast to the Junior Boks’ previous training and international outings thus far. Facing a side bolstered by Currie Cup, SA Cup and United Rugby Championship campaigners, the SA U20s were forced to adapt to a significantly higher physical and tactical threshold, in testing conditions. “We want to leave for Gqeberha with the confidence that we have ticked the boxes we set for ourselves,” Currie said. “We will leave no stone unturned. This training block leading up to the Rugby Championship is vital. The value for our guys is that there is no room for error. You must learn quickly because we are heading into our Test match season now “The Junior Boks went up against men in the Boland side who are household provincial names. The value for our guys is that there is no room for error. You must learn quickly because we are heading into our Test match season now.” Currie said the transition from Varsity Cup intensity — following recent sessions against Maties and Ikeys — to training with a battle-hardened Carling Currie Cup Premier Division playoff contender like Boland provided the “tough hit-out” the group required. Underlining the leap in physicality, the Junior Bok assistant coach said testing themselves against a seasoned provincial unit was essential for exposing the squad to the demands of what can expect at international level. Boland used the exercise as part of their preparations for important SA Cup clashes that lie ahead. “We’ve brought in a number of youngsters to try and build depth going forward,” Currie said. The current squad of 43 players will be trimmed down to 31 towards the end of next week before the Junior Boks head for the Eastern Cape for the Rugby Championship. The event in Gqeberha will be the third edition of Sanzaar U20 tournament, and the second in a row to be staged at the Nelson Mandela Stadium. Last year’s event was a massive success, and we are thrilled that this tournament will be returning to Gqeberha The Junior Boks will kick off their bid for glory a with an opening match against Argentina on April 27. The SA vs Argentina game (4.10pm kickoff) is the late game in a double header, which also features an opening clash between New Zealand and Australia at 2pm on Freedom Day. SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said it was a feather in the cap of SA Rugby and the Eastern Cape to host the third instalment of this tournament for a second time. “Last year’s event was a massive success, and we are thrilled that this tournament will be returning to Gqeberha,” he said. Tickets for the U20 Rugby Championship will be priced from R35 per person per day for two matches, and will be sold exclusively by Ticketmaster. Fixtures April 27: 2pm: New Zealand v Australia; 4.10pm: Junior Boks v Argentina. May 3: 2pm: New Zealand v Argentina; 4.10pm: Junior Boks v Australia. May 9: 2pm: Argentina v Australia; 4.10pm: Junior Boks v New Zealand. Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

Seven minutes later, Ahmed jinxed his way through the Pumas’ defence to register SA’s third try to push the lead up to 17-0.

SA’s opening try-scoring blitz continued when wing ⁠Jack Benade latched onto a perfectly directed cross-field kick from the ever-present Ahmed to put the Boks 24-0 ahead.

The try fest continued when the powerful Adams scored a second try to add to Argentina’s misery in the 25th minute.

At this stage it was one-way traffic, with Argentina struggling to match the Boks’ high-tempo game.

Try predator Benade lifted the Boks into a 36-0 lead after 33 minutes with his second try to round off an impressive first half.

Early second-half tries from replacement prop Oliver Reid and a third for try-hungry Benade put the Boks 48-0 ahead after 55 minutes.

Despite being outplayed, Argentina never threw in the towel and punctured the SA defence for the first time in the 62nd minute when Federico Torre crossed the line.

They added further respectability to the scoreline when Tomas Dande and Torre went over for further late tries.

Scorers:

SA 48: Tries: Ethan Adams (2), Hendre Schoeman, Yaqeen Ahmed, Jack Benade (3), Oliver Reid. Conversions: Yaqeen Ahmed (4).

Argentina 21: Tries: Federico Torre (2), Tomas Dande. Conversions: Manuel Giannantonio (3).

The opening game got off to a bright start, with New Zealand and Australia scoring early tries to set the tone for the match.

The Baby Blacks scored the first five-pointer after four minutes when fullback Cohen Norrie dived over after enterprising play by his back division.

Two minutes later, Australia hit back with a try of their own from loose forward Marshall Le Maitre after strong play among the forwards.

The sides continued trading blows, and New Zealand had a second try when prop Henry Stuart powered his way over the tryline.

Both teams were full of running, and Australian wing Riley Whitfield danced his way through the New Zealand defence and put his team on level terms at 12-12 after 20 minutes.

Further tries by Taione Taka and Finn Mackay allowed Australia to grab a useful 24-12 halftime lead.

New Zealand struck the first blow of the second half when the lively Norrie crossed for his second five-pointer.

When Australia went down to 13 men after cards to Cooper Watters and Angus Grover, New Zealand surged into a 34-29 lead with 13 minutes remaining.

Scorers:

New Zealand 34: Tries: Cohen Norrie (2) , Henry Stuart, Haki Wiseman, Caleb Woodley, Logan Williams. Conversions: Mika Muliaina (2).

Australia 29: Tries: Marshall Le Maitre, Riley Whitfield, Taione Taka, Finn Mackay, Leo Jaques. Conversions: Finn Mackay (2).

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