Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote and skipper Riley Norton praised the SA U20 side for fighting back from three to one tries down to draw 29-29 with New Zealand in their final match of the 2026 Under-20 Rugby Championship at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.
Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote left the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium a satisfied man after the South Africans kicked off their U20 Rugby Championship campaign with a statement victory over Argentina on Monday.
Riley Norton will lead the Junior Springboks in their 2026 Under-20 Rugby Championship opener against Argentina’s Los Pumitas on Monday, as they aim to make an immediate impact in front of their home crowd in Gqeberha.
The Junior Boks made an injury-forced change to their squad for the 2026 Under-20 Rugby Championship, with Siphosethu Mnebelele replaced by Mahle Sithole for the tournament, which kicks off at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Monday, 27 April.
Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote named a sizeable training squad of 45 players, including four who attended the recent Springbok alignment camp.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus added two new players to the group who will attend the first virtual Springbok alignment camp, with former Junior Springboks Carlü Sadie and JJ van der Mescht being among the 21 players from around the world who have cracked the nod.
Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx capped off a remarkable season by being crowned SA Rugby Player of the Year for 2025.
The Junior Springboks concluded their short tour of Georgia with a 35-5 victory over their hosts on a cold and wet Friday afternoon in Tbilisi, with SA U20 head coach Kevin Foote praising the players’ resilience in the tough conditions.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus cast his net wide, as he named a 49-man squad featuring 11 uncapped players – five of whom are still in the Junior Springbok ranks – for the team’s first in-person alignment camp of the year in Cape Town on Wednesday.
Riley Norton will lead an exciting Junior Springbok team in the first of two international meetings against Georgia in Tbilisi on Sunday afternoon.