The Junior Springboks claimed their first U20 Rugby Championship title after beating the Junior Wallabies 54-17 in Gqeberha, with New Zealand's earlier loss to Argentina U20 confirming the trophy with a round to spare.
The Junior Springboks have won their first-ever Under-20 Rugby Championship title, sealing the trophy with a round to spare after hammering the Junior Wallabies 54-17 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Sunday.
The title was confirmed when New Zealand fell to Los Pumitas earlier in the day, leaving the Junior Boks with an unassailable lead on the log. They wrap up the tournament against New Zealand in a dead rubber on Saturday, 9 May.
Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton insists Saturday's U20 Rugby Championship finale against New Zealand is no dead rubber, with breakdown improvement the key focus as the log-leading Baby Boks chase a clean sweep at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The Junior Springboks open their U20 Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Monday (4.10pm), with coach Kevin Foote prioritising fitness and ball-in-play tempo after lessons learnt from last year's tournament on the same ground. New Zealand face Australia in the day's first match at 2pm, with all three rounds of the four-nation competition again hosted in Gqeberha.
The Junior Springboks need a bonus point against New Zealand on Saturday to clinch the U20 Rugby Championship title, after a rules miscommunication led to SA Rugby prematurely declaring them champions. South Africa lead the standings on 10 points, five clear of both New Zealand and Argentina.
Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton has called for a focused performance against New Zealand in Saturday's U20 Rugby Championship finale in Gqeberha, with the title already secured but the skipper wary of a backlash from a Baby Blacks side knocked out of title contention by Argentina.
The Junior Boks have not clinched the 2026 U20 Rugby Championship title despite premature celebrations — a Sanzaar bonus-point rule change that went uncommunicated to key stakeholders has left South Africa, on 10 points, needing one more point from the final round to confirm the title, with Argentina and New Zealand both on five.