The Junior Springboks secured their place in the Junior World Championship semi-finals with a 52-33 victory over Wales in Tbilisi on Tuesday, topping Pool A but leaving enough defensive lapses to give the coaching staff plenty to work on ahead of Monday's last-four clash.
Wales drew first blood with two converted tries inside the opening 10 minutes, but the SA U20s steadied and reeled off four unanswered tries before the break. Hendre Schoeman went over from a dominant scrum in the 12th minute, Ethan Adams added the second after a sharp chip-and-collect move involving Yaqeen Ahmed, and Siphosethu Mnebelele was driven over from a lineout to give South Africa the lead. With Welsh tighthead Jac Pritchard in the sin bin, Heinrich Theron scored from another driving maul to make it 26-14 at half-time.
Risima Khosa crossed early in the second half to push the lead past 30, but a yellow card to Cheswill Jooste for a deliberate knock-down gave Wales a foothold and Osian Lewis duly scored. Tom Bowen added a fourth Welsh try as South Africa's defence continued to show vulnerability, reducing the gap to 38-26. Liam van Wyk scored twice from lineout drives to restore a comfortable cushion, and Mnebelele's second try — his 67th-minute effort converted by Ahmed — extended the lead to 52-26 and effectively ended the contest.
The closing stages turned scrappy. Mnebelele was yellow-carded for ruck infringement, and the Junior Boks were further reduced when Van Wyk could not return and Alzeadon Felix departed, forcing uncontested scrums. Wales took advantage of the numerical superiority to add a fifth try through Lewis Edwards, which closed the scoring at 52-33.
South Africa ran in eight tries in total, with Ahmed converting six. The scoreline flatters neither side entirely — the Junior Boks had the power and the depth to win more comfortably, but errors in the Welsh red zone and soft moments in defence kept Wales in the contest far longer than the pool standings suggest.