LONG READ South Africa's Junior Boks well placed to continue their dominance on the world stage

The Junior Springboks have won nine and drawn one of their last 10 games, claiming the 2025 World Rugby Junior World Championship and 2026 U20 Rugby Championship titles in the process.

In spite of this consistent run of results, there’s a feeling in South African rugby circles that the young side is yet to realise it’s potential, and that they will be even stronger by the time the team departs for the next edition of the Junior World Championship in Georgia next month.

What’s more, many are starting to consider what these performances could mean for the Springboks in the not-too distant future.

Teenage stars such as winger Cheswill Jooste (Bulls), utility back Zekhethelo Siyaya (Sharks) and outside centre Markus Muller (Stormers) have been exposed to the professional game over the past few months, and Bok coach Rassie Erasmus has worked with some of the best young prospects at recent alignment camps.

Haashim Pead, Bathobele Hlekani, Jooste and skipper Riley Norton became household names after they spearheaded South Africa’s title-winning campaign in Italy last year. Norton has returned for another stint with the Junior Boks in 2026, and led the tackle count (36) in the U20 Rugby Championship.

While the 29-29 draw to New Zealand in the decider highlighted a few shortcomings, there’s reason to believe that the team will go into the next phase of their season with confidence and momentum.

The Junior Boks thrashed Argentina 48-21 in the tournament opener, before handing Australia a 56-17 drubbing. By the end of the three-game campaign, South Africa had racked up 133 points and 20 tries.

Flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed finished the tournament as the leading point-scorer (35), inside centre Ethan “The Tank” Adams bulldozed 14 defenders, while winger Jack Benade (four) topped the try-scoring table.

Consider for a moment how another leading team evolved en route to winning two major titles in succession.

The Springboks made a statement last season when they won 86% of their Tests while playing a balanced brand of rugby. Erasmus’ charges scored 572 points and 81 tries – shattering the South African attacking records that were set in the 2024 season.

While the attacking prowess of the team was clear, they lacked the grit and game intelligence to excel in other key departments such as defence and tactical kicking

The Bok attack averaged 41 points and 5.8 tries per game, while the defence averaged 17 points and 2.0 tries conceded. There were many reasons why the Boks were the world’s leading team in 2025, and an average scoreline of 41-17 certainly highlights their dominance.

Now, consider how the Junior Boks have fared since Kevin Foote took the head coaching reins in late 2024.

The team experienced a few growing pains in the first five matches of the 2025 season, and lost to Australia and New Zealand in the U20 Rugby Championship.

While the attacking prowess of the team was clear, they lacked the grit and game intelligence to excel in other key departments such as defence and tactical kicking. This much was evident when they leaked 48 points and eight tries against the Baby Blacks in the final of the 2025 Sanzaar tournament.

During that five-game block, the Junior Boks averaged 34 points for and 29 against. While they were scoring 5.2 tries a game, they were conceding 4.4 at the other end of the park.

Now, consider how different their results and stats have been between June 2025 and the present.

During this period, the Junior Boks have won nine and drawn one, and have averaged 45 points for and 16 against.

Their powerful scrum and maul has set a strong attacking platform, and they have looked to play the game at a lively tempo in the latter phases.

And yet, they’ve taken more significant strides in another key department. While they’ve averaged 6.4 tries scored in this period, they conceded just 2.5 per match.

In short, the defence has been nearly twice as effective during the team’s 10-game unbeaten run. Their kicking game has also improved.

Some critics have highlighted a few soft moments, and Foote himself has explained that this team remains a work in progress.

The Junior Boks went into the recent match against the Baby Blacks needing a single log point to clinch the U20 Rugby Championship title, and after they achieved that objective via a try-scoring bonus point, they appeared to lose focus.

It’s fair to say that if New Zealand fly-half Mika Muliainia hadn’t missed so many kicks over the course of the contest – and most crucially a late penalty – the visitors would have won the game.

Some of South Africa’s previous performances should serve as a warning to future opponents. They’ve won seven of their last 10 games by a margin of 24 points or more.

“We’ve won the tournament, we’ve tested our depth, and we’ve learned a lot about ourselves,” Foote said said in the wake of the U20 Rugby Championship. “This experience will serve us well going forward.

“Twelve months ago, we came here and didn’t kick particularly well. This time our kicking was mature, contestable, and it allowed us to play in the right areas of the field. There’s been real growth in our game.”

Some of South Africa’s previous performances should serve as a warning to future opponents.

They’ve won seven of their last 10 games by a margin of 24 points or more. England and New Zealand pushed the Junior Boks relatively close in this period, although that statement needs qualifying. South Africa beat England by 10 points at the Junior World Championship before winning by eight against the Baby Blacks in the tournament decider.

South African rugby has never been stronger, and recent performances by the U20s suggest that the senior national side could remain in a position of of power for years to come.

Erasmus has already moved to integrate younger players in the senior squad, giving the likes of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie and Jan-Hendrik Wessels – a group aged 24 and younger – multiple opportunities across the 2024 and 2025 Test seasons.

Now there is talk of Erasmus fielding Junior Bok graduates such as Pead, Hlekani, Jooste, Jaco Williams (another gifted back who was recently blooded by the Sharks), Siphosethu Mnebelele and Norton in the South African A side in a friendly against Zimbabwe in Gqeberha on 20 June. The senior Bok team will be in action against the Barbarians at the same venue later in the day.

While the country has always had strong rugby schools, a growing number of institutions are bolstering their rugby programmes, with more top coaches being recruited and a greater focus on conditioning than ever before.

Markus Muller and the versatile prop Kai Pratt are also part of Erasmus’ wider training group. Both are expected to recover from their recent injury setbacks and travel to the Junior World Championship – but it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see them representing the Boks or SA A at some point this season.

It says a lot for the South African school system that Muller, Pratt and several others have slotted straight into the professional set-up just a few months after finishing Grade 12.

While the country has always had strong rugby schools, a growing number of institutions are bolstering their rugby programmes, with more top coaches being recruited and a greater focus on conditioning than ever before.

Meanwhile, SA Rugby has continued to strengthen their development programmes at age-group level as well as the pipeline between schools and franchise rugby.

Foote and company won’t take anything for granted in the lead-up to the Junior World Championship, and in a sense, the recent draw against New Zealand will serve as a timely wake-up call for the young side.

But given all that has been built over the past two seasons and all the team has achieved, it isn’t a stretch to suggest that the Junior Boks are well placed to replicate the senior side’s feat of back-to-back world titles.