Head coach Bafana Nhleko bemoaned the Junior Springboks’ error rate and not keeping the pressure up in their U20 Rugby Championship defeat against Australia on Tuesday.
The match was yet again played at a wet Sunshine Coast Stadium, where the Junior Boks showed fighting spirit until the final whistle despite a red card in the first half, and a yellow card towards the end of the encounter.
Australia led 10-7 at the break, but the South Africans took a 14-10 lead, only to see the hosts hit back quickly to retake the lead. Australia won 24-19, with a combination of unforced errors and ill-discipline costing the young men in green.
“The disappointing thing is that we actually managed to build pressure at times, but then consistently released that pressure,” Nhleko said.
“As [captain] JF [van Heerden] said, we played against ourselves but fair credit to Australia for capitalising on our errors and their set piece ascendancy.
RECAP: Australia bully Junior Boks
“It was frustrating that we managed to get ourselves into the right areas of the field, but we let ourselves down with our execution. We don’t want it to be a recurring theme, so we need to get it right.”
A red card for prop Mbasa Maqubela in the 20th minute for charging into a ruck didn’t assist South Africa’s cause, while Bathobele Hlekani was yellow carded for infringing a rolling maul, which also resulted in a penalty try for the Aussies.
“Australia took their opportunities and deserved to win, but the cards had the effect that our pack played for approximately 30 minutes with seven players, which obviously hurt us by sapping our energy,” Nhleko added.
“We will have a good review, and as much as we are disappointed with tonight’s outcome, I do believe the players have the skill and ability compared to what we saw today. We have to find the character to show it against Argentina. Today was a tough experience, but we will pick ourselves up and prepare for Argentina.”
The Junior Boks play Argentina in their final fixture on Sunday. New Zealand, meanwhile, beat the Pumitas on Tuesday to move to the top of the log.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
