Coach Kevin Foote is looking to the Junior Boks' familiarity with tournament knockout rugby as they prepare to face England in Monday's Junior World Cup semi-final in Tbilisi, after his side dispatched Wales 52-33 at the Avchala Stadium on Tuesday to finish top of Pool A with 15 points.
Wales made a sharp start, scoring two converted tries inside the opening 10 minutes to lead 14-0, before South Africa found their footing. Hendre Schoeman crossed in the 12th minute off a dominant Junior Bok scrum, and Ethan Adams added a second five minutes later after a clever chip from the big centre created space for Yaqeen Ahmed to collect and return the ball — Ahmed converting both to level at 14-14.
Siphosethu Mnebelele's try in the 26th minute gave South Africa the lead, and when Welsh tighthead Jac Pritchard was sin-binned shortly after, Heinrich Theron went over from a driving maul to send the Junior Boks into the break at 26-14. Mnebelele grabbed his second, Risima Khosa scored out wide early in the second half, and Liam van Wyk added two more as South Africa ran in eight tries in total. Ahmed finished with six conversions.
Wales pulled three tries back in the second half, aided in part by a Cheswill Jooste yellow card for a deliberate knock-down, but never seriously threatened the margin.
Foote was candid about the performance, acknowledging a passive opening and pinpointing defence and ball retention as areas requiring attention before the semi-final. "We were a little bit passive in the beginning," he said. "But once we got into the game and built some momentum, I thought we created some really good try-scoring opportunities. There was a lot of attacking intent, and the players showed good composure to take control of the match."
On the scrum, Foote was encouraged despite a couple of penalties conceded: "Overall, I thought the pack did really well. They worked hard throughout the game, gave us good front-foot ball and helped us get the result over the line."
The defending champions face England on Monday, with the other semi-final pitting New Zealand — Pool B winners also on 15 points — against France.