The Junior Springboks are under no illusion about the task that awaits them against England in their must-win clash of the 2024 U20 World Championship in Athlone on Tuesday.
It’s the Junior Boks’ final Pool C fixture before the playoffs on Sunday, with the South Africans in a position where they must beat England and hope other results go their way to qualify for the semi-finals.
England currently lead Pool C with 10 points from their two wins while the Junior Boks and Argentina are tied in second place on five points each.
Speaking to media after Sunday’s team announcement, Asad Moos and JF van Heerden – who are both playing in their second U20 World Championship – said the Junior Boks have a very clear picture of what they want to do against the English, who are the reigning Six Nations U20 champions.
“England are a good side, they’ve earned it, but we don’t dwell too much on what they’ve done – our main focus is on our processes and what we can do to achieve a positive result,” Van Heerden said.
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Moos added: “They have been in good form so far during the tournament, but we had a hard, honest look at ourselves, pinpointing where things went wrong against Argentina and making plans on how to fix that.”
A cold front is currently gripping parts of the Western Cape, bringing ice cold weather and rain with it, with downpours expected on Tuesday evening.
Asking whether the adverse conditions might force a rethink of strategy, Moos emphasised that he and the team have a clear understanding on how they want to play.
“We know our performance wasn’t good enough [against Argentina], but we will be sticking to our plan and our game strategy and must show improvement and be better in the execution of our plans,” he said.
The semi-finals and ranking playoff games are taking place on Sunday, and the final ranking games, bronze medal fixture and final will be staged on Friday, 19 July.
Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
