The Junior Springboks are world champions for the second consecutive year after defeating France U20 16-5 in the Junior World Championship final at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi on Saturday, becoming the first South African U20 side to win back-to-back titles.
Yaqeen Ahmed was the game's decisive influence with the boot, contributing 11 points from three penalties and a conversion. Markus Muller crossed for the only Junior Bok try in the 67th minute, which proved the turning point after a tightly contested contest shaped by wet conditions — the final was delayed 45 minutes due to inclement weather.
Ahmed opened the scoring with a penalty in the eighth minute, capitalising on the Junior Boks' set-piece dominance, before adding a second on the stroke of half-time to take an 6-0 lead into the break. France flanker Raphael Audebert scored early in the second half to cut the deficit to one, and the French came close to a second try before South African defenders held firm on their own line.
With the scores at 6-5, Muller's try — Ahmed converting — swung the match decisively. Two further Junior Bok tries from Cheswill Jooste and Ahmed were chalked off in the closing stages, but Ahmed's third penalty in the final minutes sealed the result.
The victory extends the Junior Boks' unbeaten run to 18 matches, a sequence that began at the 2024 Junior World Championship in Italy. Kevin Foote's side also claimed the U20 Rugby Championship earlier this season, completing a clean sweep of the major U20 honours.
Scorers — Junior Springboks 16 (6): Try: Markus Muller. Conversion: Yaqeen Ahmed. Penalties: Ahmed (3). France U20 5 (0): Try: Raphael Audebert.