Junior Boks outclass a misfiring England

The Junior Springboks finished their UK tour with an impressive third victory, this time over England at Sixways. The England side, playing their first game together, were shown they have work to do as they begin to prepare for the U20 RWC in June. England open their campaign against Argentina in Narbonne in less than three weeks’ time.

The England side, which were runners-up in this years U20 Six Nations, found themselves without a number of star names. Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Marcus Smith & Cameron Redpath all missing with the senior England camp next week. They were also without Gabriel Ibitoye, Dino Lamb, Tom Hardwick, Will Butler & Marcus Street who were all unselected.

England looked unprepared when compared against a Springbok side which has already had two convincing wins on their tour. They were 41-3 victors against Scotland in Edinburgh and 41-5 winners over Wales. They will provide stiff competition in France, as they’ll hope to improve on their third-place finish last year in Georgia.

South Africa opened the scoring early, excellent handling saw the visitors score in the corner. England spent time camped on the South African try line but some aggressive defence saw England unable to convert the position into points. However, England eventually got on the board with excellent work from London Irish duo Tom Parton & Ben Loader. A turn of speed and precision pass from Parton found Loader. With three men to beat, Loader stayed strong in the tackle, and broke free to finish in the corner.

South Africa came out faster after the 20-minute water break, in preparation for the hot weather expected in France.  After the forwards putting pressure on England, it left scrum-half Rewan Kruger with half a gap which he darted over to score. England had opportunities to put pressure on the Springboks before half time but a number of set piece errors, particularly at the lineout, cost the home side dearly.

England made a number of changes at half-time, ensuring the whole squad got game time before the squad for France is announced. England looked brighter at the start of the second half, but South Africa continued to show poise as they kept England pinned back deep inside their half. England, attempting to attack from deep gave good position to the Junior Boks, who didn’t need a second invitation. This time another powerful driving maul saw South Africa extend their lead to 19-7.

England eventually found themselves in good position inside the opposition 22m. England showed their own power in their forwards as a driving maul made 10m from a lineout and was finished by replacement hooker Henry Walker. England were looking for a score to take the lead for the first time in the game with 5 minutes left on the clock. However, South African inside centre Rikus Pretorius capped off his impressive performance with an interception in the midfield which saw him race away 50 metres to score under the posts.

The final whistle saw South Africa 26-12 victors in a game they controlled and dominated throughout. England will undoubtably improve before the start of the tournament in France, but the performance highlighted a number of areas they will be keen to work on. A number of issues at the set piece will be a key focus to ensure England don’t waste opportunities to score. They will also need to improve their physicality up front as they are likely to face a similarly ferocious side in Argentina in their opening game.

There is also work to do in the backline as, despite the talented individuals, they failed to link-up to great effect. Much like the set pieces, this is likely to improve as the squad spend more time together. However, England may be helped by greater consistency in selection during the World Cup, as this team was the sixth different fly half & centre pairing in as many games.

There were several positives performances for England to take moving forward. There was a very impressive debut for Saracens lock Joel Kpoku, his physical presence and abrasive game something England seemingly lacked in parts. Ollie Lawrence also continued to impress at outside centre, as he was two years younger than some of his fellow compatriots. England will also be delighted to have Tom Parton back from injury as he looked a steadying influence at full-back, as well as showing his pace and precision for England’s opening try.

England will need to be up to speed quickly before their opening game of the U20 Rugby World Cup in Narbonne on Wednesday 30th May against Argentina. They will then play Italy on Sunday 3rd June in Perpignan, before hoping to put right their mistakes against Scotland in the Sex Nations, as they play their final pool game on Thursday 7th June in Beziers.