Wikipedia

South Africa national under-20 rugby union team

The South Africa national under-20 rugby union team (nicknamed the Junior Boks or the Baby Boks) are South Africa's junior team at national level. They have been competing in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship (formerly the IRB Junior World Championship) since its inception in 2008. This Under-20 tournament replaced the previously-held Under-19 and Under-21 Rugby World Championships. Prior to 2018, it had been the country's "next senior" (second-level) 15-man national side, but World Rugby no longer allows member unions to designate age-grade sides as "next senior" teams.

South Africa
UnionSouth African Rugby Union
Nickname(s)Baby Boks
Junior Boks
Little Bokke
Founded2008
Coach(es)Bafana Nhlkeo
Captain(s)George Cronje
League(s)World Rugby Under 20 Championship
20193rd
Team kit
Change kit
First international
v United States (2008)
Largest win
South Africa 108–18 United States
Largest defeat
South Africa 19 – 49 Argentina
World Cup
Appearances12
Best resultChampions (2012)
Union website
www.sarugby.co.za
Current season
← 2023 2024 →

History

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Head to Head

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  • Stats correct as of 2 July 2023
Opposition Played Won Drawn Lost % Won
  Argentina 5 3 0 2 60%
  Australia 3 2 0 1 67%
  England 11 3 0 8 27%
  Fiji 2 2 0 0 100%
  France 8 5 1 2 63%
  Georgia 4 4 0 0 100%
  Ireland 4 3 0 1 75%
  Italy 4 3 0 1 75%
  Japan 1 1 0 0 100%
  New Zealand 7 6 0 1 86%
  Samoa 3 3 0 0 100%
  Scotland 5 5 0 0 100%
  Tonga 1 1 0 0 100%
  United States 2 2 0 0 100%
  Wales 2 1 0 1 50%
Total 62 44 1 17 71%

Summary

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South African Final Placing
P W D L PF PA
2008 3 3 0 0 173 19 Lost — 3rd
2009 3 3 0 0 144 40 Lost — 3rd
2010 3 2 0 1 148 56 Lost — 3rd
2011 3 2 0 1 95 52 — — 5th
2012 3 2 0 1 99 41 Won Won Champions
2013 3 3 0 0 154 43 Lost — 3rd
2014 3 3 0 0 115 37 Won Lost 2nd
2015 3 3 0 0 119 26 Lost — 3rd
2016 3 2 0 1 112 69 Lost — 4th
2017 3 2 1 0 133 51 Lost — 3rd
2018 3 2 0 1 92 90 Lost — 3rd
2019 3 3 0 0 116 56 Lost — 3rd

2008

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South Africa took part in the inaugural edition of the competition in 2008 held in Wales, where they were drawn in Pool B. They beat the United States 108–18 in their very first game.[1] A 72–3 victory over Scotland[2] and a 16–11 win against Samoa[3] saw them top the pool to qualify for the semi-final stages. They lost their semi-final match 18–26 to England,[4] but returned to winning ways with a 43–18 win over hosts Wales in the third-place play-off match.[5]

Matches


6 June 2008 (group stage)   South Africa 108 - 18   United States Racecourse Ground, Wrexham  


10 June 2008 (group stage)   South Africa 72 - 3   Scotland Racecourse Ground, Wrexham  


14 June 2008 (group stage)   South Africa 16 - 11   Samoa Racecourse Ground, Wrexham  


14 June 2008 (semifinal)   South Africa 18 - 26   England Arms Park, Cardiff  


22 June 2008 (3rd/4th Playoff)   South Africa 43 - 18   Wales Liberty Stadium, Swansea  

2009

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South Africa were placed in Pool C of the 2009 competition held in Japan. They emulated their 2008 form, winning all three of their pool matches – they beat Fiji 36–10,[6] Italy 65–3[7] and France 43–27[8] to finish top of the pool. They again lost to England in the semi-finals (losing 21–40),[9] but again bounced back by winning the third-place play-off match, this time beating Australia 32–5.[10]

Matches


5 June 2009 (group stage)   South Africa 36 - 10   Fiji Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka  
Try: CJ Stander, Robert Ebersohn, Sias Ebersohn, Sampie Mastriet
Con: Sias Ebersohn 2
Pen: Sias Ebersohn 3
Drop: Sias Ebersohn 		Referee:   Keith Brown


9 June 2009 (group stage)   South Africa 65 - 3 Italy   Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka  
Try: Gerhard van den Heever 2, Seabela Omphile 2, Lionel Cronjé 2, Sias Ebersohn, Robert Ebersohn, Tendayi Chikukwa, Johann Sadie
Con: Sias Ebersohn 4, Lionel Cronjé 2
Pen: Sias Ebersohn 3 		Referee:   Peter Allan


13 June 2009 (group stage)   South Africa 43 - 27 France   Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka  
Try: Sampie Mastriet 2, Jandré Marais, Ross Cronjé, Lionel Cronjé
Con: Francois Brummer 2
Pen: Francois Brummer 3
Drop: Sias Ebersohn 		Referee:   James Jones


17 June 2009 (semifinal)   South Africa 21 - 40   England Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo  
Try: CJ Stander, Stokkies Hanekom
Con: Francois Brummer
Pen: Francois Brummer 3 		Referee:   Chris Pollock


21 June 2009 (3rd/4th Playoff)   South Africa 32 - 5 Australia   Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo  
Try: Lionel Cronjé, Gerhard van den Heever, Stokkies Hanekom
Con: Francois Brummer 3
Pen: Francois Brummer 2 		Referee:   Keith Brown

2010

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A 40–14 victory over Tonga[11] in the opening match of Pool C in the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship held in Argentina was followed up by a 73–0 victory over Scotland,[12] before South Africa suffered their first ever pool stage defeat in the competition, losing 35–42 to Australia.[13] Although finishing in second position in the pool, they still qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of having the best record of the second-placed teams across the three pools. They were eliminated 7–36 by New Zealand in the semi-finals,[14] but managed to win the third-place play-off for the third year in a row, avenging their previous semi-final exists at the hands of England by beating them 27–22.[15]

2011

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Victories in South Africa's first two matches at the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship held in Italy – beating Scotland 33–0[16] and Ireland 42–26[17] – were followed by a defeat at the hands of England, losing 20–26[18] to finish second in the pool and failing to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time. Instead, they went into the fifth-placed play-off series, where a 57–15 win over pool rivals Ireland[19] and a 104–17 win over Fiji[20] saw them finish the competition in fifth spot.

2012

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South Africa hosted the tournament in 2012, but the hosts got off to a bad start, losing 19–23 to Ireland in their first match.[21] However, they recovered to beat Italy 52–3[22] and previously-unbeaten England 28–15[23] to finish top of the log. They easily dispatched Argentina in the semi-final, winning 35–3,[24] before beating New Zealand 22–16 in the final in Cape Town,[25] winning the competition for the first time and ending the latter's four-year reign as champions.[26]

2013

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South Africa won all three their pool matches at the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship held in France; they beat the United States 97–0,[27] England 31–24[28] and hosts France 26–19[29] to top their pool to qualify to the semi-finals. They lost their semi-final match 17–18 to Wales[30] before winning their fourth third-place play-off match in six seasons, beating New Zealand 41–34.[31]

2014

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In the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship held in New Zealand, South Africa beat Scotland 61–5,[32] hosts New Zealand 33–24[33] and Samoa 21–8[34] to finish top of their pool. They again met New Zealand in the semi-finals and beat them again, this time by a 32–25 scoreline,[35] to qualify to their second final. However, they lost the final 20–21 to England to finish the competition in second spot.[36]

2015

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For 2015, the IRB Junior World Championship was rebranded as the World Rugby Under 20 Championship. South Africa started the competition with a 33–5 win against hosts Italy[37] and recorded a 40–8 win against Samoa[38] and a 46–13 win over Australia[39] in their remaining pool matches to finish top of Pool B to qualify for the semi-finals with the best record pool stage of all the teams in the competition. They came up against an England side that beat them in the 2014 final and were eliminated by the same opponents again, losing 20–28 to be eliminated from the competition.[40] They restored some pride by winning their third-place play-off match against France 31–18 to win the bronze medal.[41]

2016

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South Africa came from behind to beat Japan 59–19 in their opening match in Pool C of the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship held in Manchester.[42] They were beaten 13–19 by Argentina in their second match,[43] suffering only their fourth defeat ever in the pool stage of the competition, but bounced back to secure a 40-31 bonus-point victory over France in their final pool match[44] to secure a semi-final place as the best runner-up in the competition. They faced hosts and three-time champions England in the semi-finals, who proved too strong for the visitors, knocking them out of the competition with a 39–17 victory.[45] South Africa's final match came against Argentina, who already beat them previously in Pool C, in the third-place play-off final. Argentina won again, with a very convincing 49–19 scoreline,[46] condemning South Africa to fourth place in the competition.

Players

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For a complete list of every player to have represented the South Africa Under-20 team, see List of South Africa national under-20 rugby union team players.

Current squad

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The following players were named in the South Africa Under-20 squad for the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship:[47]

2019 South Africa Under–20 rugby union team
Name SCO GEO NZL FRA ARG App Try Con Pen DG Pts
Dian Bleuler 1 1 1 1 17   5 0 0 0 0 0
Fez Mbatha 2 2 2 2 2 5 2 0 0 0 10
Asenathi Ntlabakanye 3 3 3 3 3 5 1 0 0 0 5
JJ van der Mescht 4 4 4 4 4 5 3 0 0 0 15
Emile van Heerden 5 5 25   25 3 0 0 0 0 0
Jaco Labuschagne 6 21   20 20   6 4 0 0 0 0 0
Phepsi Buthelezi (c) 7 8 8 8 8 5 0 0 0 0 0
Francke Horn 8 1 1 0 0 0 5
Jaden Hendrikse 9 9 9 9 23   5 2 8 4 0 38
James Mollentze 10 10 10 10 4 0 0 0 0 0
Caleb Dingaan 11 11 26 26 22   3 0 0 0 0 0
Rikus Pretorius 12 12 12 12 12 5 2 0 0 0 10
Marnus Potgieter 13 13 13 13 25 4 0 0 0 0 0
Angelo Davids 14 14 14 14 14 5 1 0 0 0 5
Vaughen Isaacs 15 15 15 15 15 5 1 0 0 0 5
Dameon Venter 16   16   16   16   16   5 0 0 0 0 0
Kudzwai Dube 17   17   17   17   1 5 1 0 0 0 5
Keagan Glade 18   18   18   18   18   5 0 0 0 0 0
Thabiso Mdletshe 19 19 19 19 19   1 0 0 0 0 0
Elrigh Louw 20 20   5 5 5 4 0 0 0 0 0
Dylan Richardson 21   6 6 6 20   5 2 0 0 0 10
David Kriel 22 27 28 28 13 1 0 0 0 0 0
Sanele Nohamba 23   23   23   23   9 5 2 7 3 0 33
Celimpilo Gumede 24   7 21   21 7 4 0 0 0 0 0
David Coetzer 25 26   27   27   10 4 1 0 0 1 8
Mnombo Zwelendaba 26 22 22   26 1 0 0 0 0 0
Sibusiso Sangweni 27 24 7 7 21 2 0 0 0 0 0
Thaakir Abrahams 28 22   11 11 11 4 3 0 0 0 15
Janko Swanepoel 24 24 24   1 0 0 0 0 0
Total 5 22 15 7 1 164

(c) denotes the team captain. For each match, the player's squad number is shown. Starting players are numbered 1 to 15, while the replacements are numbered 16 to 23. If a replacement made an appearance in the match, it is indicated by  . "App" refers to the number of appearances made by the player, "Try" to the number of tries scored by the player, "Con" to the number of conversions kicked, "Pen" to the number of penalties kicked, "DG" to the number of drop goals kicked and "Pts" refer to the total number of points scored by the player.

Previous squads

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The following players played at previous editions of the World Rugby Under 20 Championship:

(c) denotes team captain.

Award winners

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The following South Africa U20s players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2008:[48]

World Rugby Junior Player of the Year
Year Nominees Winners
2012 Shaun Adendorff Jan Serfontein
Jan Serfontein
2014 Handré Pollard Handré Pollard
2016 Curwin Bosch —
2017 Juarno Augustus Juarno Augustus
2019 Jaden Hendrikse —
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  • "SA Rugby Competition – 2016 World Rugby U20 Championship". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2016.

References

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  1. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 108–18 USA". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  2. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 72–3 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  3. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 16–11 Samoa". South African Rugby Union. 14 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 26–18 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  5. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Wales 18–43 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  6. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Fiji 10–36 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  7. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Italy 3–65 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  8. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – France 27–43 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 21–40 England". South African Rugby Union. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  10. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Australia 5–32 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 21 June 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  11. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 40–14 Tonga". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  12. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 73–0 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  13. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 35–42 Australia". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  14. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – New Zealand 36–7 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  15. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 22–27 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  16. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 33–0 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  17. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Ireland 26–42 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  18. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 26–20 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  19. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 57–15 Ireland". South African Rugby Union. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  20. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Fiji 17–104 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  21. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 19–23 Ireland". South African Rugby Union. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  22. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 52–3 Italy". South African Rugby Union. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  23. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 28–15 England". South African Rugby Union. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  24. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Argentina 3–35 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 17 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  25. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – New Zealand 16–22 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  26. ^ "Junior Boks end Baby Blacks' rein". ESPN Scrum. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  27. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 97–0 USA". South African Rugby Union. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  28. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 31–24 England". South African Rugby Union. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  29. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – France 19–26 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  30. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 17–18 Wales". South African Rugby Union. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  31. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 41–34 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  32. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 61–5 Scotland". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  33. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – New Zealand 24–33 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  34. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Samoa 8–21 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  35. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 32–25 New Zealand". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  36. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England 21–20 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  37. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Italy U20 5–33 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  38. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 40–8 Samoa U20". South African Rugby Union. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  39. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 46–13 Australia U20". South African Rugby Union. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  40. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 20–28 England U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  41. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – France U20 18–31 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  42. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 59–19 Japan U20". South African Rugby Union. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  43. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 13–19 Argentina U20". South African Rugby Union. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  44. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 40–31 France U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  45. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England U20 39–17 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  46. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Argentina U20 49–19 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  47. ^ "Buthelezi to lead Junior Boks at World Rugby U20 Champs" (Press release). South African Rugby Union. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  48. ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
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