Junior Boks crowned champs after thrilling draw against Baby Blacks

The Junior Springboks wrote their name into the record books when they drew 29-29 with arch-rivals New Zealand in Gqeberha on Saturday to win the U20 Rugby Championship title for the first time.

After being crowned world champions in 2025, the Baby Boks added another title to their growing list of achievements in front of 18,138 delighted supporters at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

The Boks clinched the title in the 42nd minute when hard-running centre Samuel Badenhorst scored his team’s fourth try.

It was a try that earned the Baby Boks the vital bonus point they required to give themselves an unassailable lead at the top of the log.

New Zealand then launched a ferocious assault on the Bok line and were rewarded with a penalty try which left the teams tied at 29-29 in the 76^th minute.

It was South Africa who made all the early running, and their efforts were rewarded when flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed landed a penalty to put the Junior Boks 3-0 ahead in the third minute.

Despite comfortably wrapping up the U20 Rugby Championship title with a match to spare, there will be no slacking off in the Junior Springbok ranks when they face arch-rivals New Zealand in Gqeberha on Saturday, skipper Riley Norton says. The on-fire Boks lifted the title for the first time on Sunday thanks to an emphatic bonus point win over Argentina and Australia in the opening two rounds of the four-team tournament at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Norton warned that if the Baby Boks were lulled into a sense of false security, they would come unstuck against a powerful New Zealand side (kickoff 4.10pm). The Baby Blacks’ hopes of successfully defending their title were shattered when they crashed to a shock defeat against an energised Argentina side on Sunday. A wary Norton is expecting the wounded New Zealanders to come out with guns blazing as they attempt to salvage lost pride in Saturday’s tournament finale. “If you take your foot off the gas against a team like New Zealand, they will punish you,” he warned. “The Junior Boks want to finish this tournament properly and keep on improving. “You will naturally be up for a game against New Zealand, because they are one of our biggest rivals and we have a lot of respect for them. “If we take our foot off the pedal now, rugby can come back and bite you. “We must go even harder and push ourselves and finish off this tournament with a lot of pride.” Norton thanked the partisan 10,000 crowd who cheered the Boks to victory over the Wallabies for their unwavering support. “People have come out in big numbers for the opening two rounds and you don’t want to disappoint them or ourselves in the final round on Saturday,” he said. “There is a lot of motivation in the team, so I don’t think that [complacency] will be a factor at all in our final game. “The Junior Boks want to finish as best as we can and keep on improving. “I know on points we have won the Rugby Championship, but we want to finish off the tournament with a proper showing. “Winning any tournament is great and you have to embrace those moments because in rugby you never know when they will come again. “Last year lifting the World Cup trophy after a 12-year wait was extremely special. “I think this one in front of our home crowd will be equally as special on Saturday. “Our job now is to prepare well for the week ahead and look and see what New Zealand will offer on Saturday. “You can never count them out because they are an unbelievable team. “Only after the match will we look at lifting the trophy. “For us, it’s about character and care when we play for South Africa. “The off-field connection has been unbelievable, and that carries onto the field. “We’ve got an awesome group of guys who are willing to sacrifice for each other. “It means a lot playing at home here in Gqeberha. “You feel the crowd, and it pushes you to give more for the guy next to you.” Thanks to the commanding 56-17 bonus point win over the Junior Wallabies, the Boks opened an unbeatable lead at the top of the log ahead of the final round of matches. After beating Australia in their opening match, New Zealand crashed to a shock 25-17 loss against Argentina in Sunday’s early second-round match. Saturday’s fixtures: 2pm: Argentina vs Australia; 4.10pm: Junior Boks vs New Zealand. Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

New Zealand showed their early intent when burly prop Dane Johnston muscled his way over the Bok tryline to give his team a 5-3 lead.

The big crowd were brought to their feet after 10 minutes when livewire Bok fullback ⁠Akahluwa Boqwana dived over in the corner after scintillating interplay among the Bok backs.

Though the Junior Boks have all but bagged the U20 Rugby Championship trophy, Saturday’s clash against arch-rivals New Zealand should not be downgraded as a meaningless dead rubber fixture, SA skipper Riley Norton says. Despite enjoying a seemingly unshakeable grip on the title, a wary Norton says the Boks will not be taking their foot off the pedal against a dangerous Baby Blacks team at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (kickoff 4.10pm). With a handsome five-point lead at the top of the log, there is only a remote mathematical possibility of the Baby Boks being overtaken on the final day of the tournament. For that to happen, SA would have to suffer a meltdown and crash to a heavy defeat against the New Zealanders, who were beaten by Argentina in the second round. The Boks’ inspirational leader says he will have no problem in firing up his team for the clash because no game against New Zealand can ever be described as irrelevant. “The Junior Boks want to finish this tournament properly and keep on improving. “You will naturally be up for a game against New Zealand, because they are one of our biggest rivals and we have a lot of respect for them. “If we take our foot off the pedal now, rugby can come back and bite you.” Norton says the Junior Boks will be looking to improve their breakdown play when they bid to end the U20 Rugby Championship tournament on a high. The Boks swept to convincing wins over Argentina and Australia in the opening rounds to put themselves at the top of the log. Asked about losing the ball at breakdown against Australia, Norton said: “Credit to Australia, and I thought they had good tacklers, and they got on top of the ball when we were loose. “I think this is a factor going into the match against the All Blacks. “They will look at that and take some notes, but we do pride ourselves on our breakdown and sometimes on the day it can misfire. “But I don’t think it even misfired against Australia. “To put 57 points on the board shows you must be doing something right. “I think because of the attacking brand of rugby that we continuously want to play, when we show our hand in the backs, there are sometimes opportunities for the opposition to get on the ball. “Maybe it is something we can look at ahead of the New Zealand clash. “For us it’s about character and care. “The off-field connection has been unbelievable, and that carries onto the field. “We’ve got an awesome group of guys who are willing to sacrifice for each other.” SA head coach Kevin Foote praised his team after the Junior Boks thrashed Australia 56-17. “There was a huge improvement,” he said. “I think the whole squad showed what it means to play for South Africa. We showed grit, and I’m super proud of everyone. “Our preparation was excellent, and the leadership from Riley and the senior guys was really good. “Our DNA is physicality, but it’s also skill. “You see the physicality in the breakdowns and how we want to play. This team plays with pride. “Our discipline has also been excellent, and we haven’t had a card in this competition yet, which is massive.” Saturday’s fixtures: 2pm: Argentina vs Australia; 4.10pm: Junior Boks vs New Zealand Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

New Zealand took the lead in the 14^th minute when wing Oliver Guerin latched onto a kick-ahead to score the Baby Blacks’ second try.

The Baby Blacks were breathing fire, and they had a third try after 21 minutes when powerful loose forward Caleb Woodley crashed over to put his side ahead.

This stung the Boks into action, and tries from Rambo Kubheka and a second from Boqwana took the Boks into the halftime break with a crucial 22-15 lead.

Scorers:

South Africa 29: Tries: Akahluwa Boqwana (2), Rambo Kubheka, Samuel Badenhorst. Conversions: Ahmed (3). Penalty: Ahmed.

New Zealand 29: Tries: Dane Johnston, Oliver Guerin, Caleb Woodley, Finn McLeod, Penalty Try. Conversion: Mika Muliaina.

In the opening match of the day, Australia registered their first win of the tournament when they beat Argentina 32-30 after an exciting finish.

Australia took full advantage when referee Christopher Allison yellow carded Argentina’s Bautista Benavides for a professional foul in the 31^st minute.

With Los Pumitas a player short, Leo Jaques and Tom Robinson went over for tries in quick succession to give the Junior Wallabies a valuable 17-10 halftime lead.

Early second-half tries by Edwin Langi and Ewald Kruger took Australia into a 29-10 lead after 47 minutes.

Argentina, however, stayed in the fight with late tries from Benjamín Ledesma (2) and Fabrizio Cebron, which reduced Australia’s lead to 32-30.

Scorers:

Australia 32: Tries: Edwin Langi (2), Leo Jaques, Tom Robinson, Ewald Kruger. Conversions: Jonty Fowler (2). Penalty Fowler.

Argentina 30: Tries: Manuel Camargo, Benjamín Ledesma (2), Fabrizio Cebron. Conversions: Federico Serpa (2). Penalties: Serpa (2).

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