Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote believes his side passed a crucial test of character against Georgia, but has warned there is still plenty of work to do ahead of their decisive Pool A clash against Wales.
South Africa maintained their unbeaten start to the Junior World Championship with a hard-fought 33-5 victory over the hosts in Tbilisi on Thursday, but Foote admitted it was far from a polished display.
“It wasn’t a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.
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Foote praised Georgia for disrupting South Africa’s attacking rhythm and forcing the Junior Boks into a bruising, physical contest.
“We knew it was going to be physical and quite emotional, but I think that we stayed on the right side of the referee,” he said.
“That’s important because it shows maturity when you don’t retaliate, and obviously when the opportunities came, we managed to capitalise on them.”
Three Georgian players were shown yellow cards during the match, with one offence upgraded to a 20-minute red card early in the second half.
Despite securing a second successive pool victory, Foote believes the performance should serve as a timely warning as the tournament reaches its business end.
“It’s certainly good to get a second game under our belts, but it was maybe a little wake-up call for us,” he said.
“We need to sharpen up in certain areas, and we’ll definitely look at that. However, the team kept in the fight and matched the physicality of a very determined Georgian side.”
The Junior Boks now turn their attention to Wales in what Foote expects to be a winner-takes-all battle for top spot in Pool A and a place in the semi-finals.
“From here it’s knockout rugby,” he said.
“Wales are a good team, and they’ve done really well in the tournament so far, so we’re expecting a big challenge.
“Everyone in the squad has played and we will now turn our attention to Wales.”
Photo: @SAJuniorRugby/X
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Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote believes his side passed a crucial test of character against Georgia.
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