The Junior Springboks will defend their Junior World Championship title after overturning an eight-point half-time deficit to dismantle England 53-37 at Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi on Tuesday evening, booking a final date with France on Saturday.
Trailing 12-20 at the break after a first half littered with handling errors, poor decision-making and missed opportunities, the Junior Boks returned with a ferocity that produced four unanswered tries in the opening 13 minutes of the second half. Khuthadzo Rasivhaga finished with a hat-trick, Kebotile Maake scored twice, and Yaqeen Ahmed contributed 23 points with boot and ball to power the turnaround.
England had set the tone early through Ollie Streeter in the fourth minute, with Hugh Shields — who ended with two tries and a combined 17 points from boot — pushing them to a 17-7 lead after half an hour. Ahmed's first try from an attacking lineout, finished with a surge from Ethan Adams, and a Rasivhaga score from a pinpoint Ahmed cross-kick kept the Junior Boks in touch, but Shields' second penalty goal gave England a 20-12 lead at the interval.
England's task became significantly harder when flanker Seb Kelly was shown a permanent red card for a headbutt on Luan Giliomee just before half-time. The Junior Boks made their numerical advantage count immediately after the restart, with Rasivhaga, Maake (twice) and then Rasivhaga again — completing his hat-trick in the 53rd minute — putting them 40-20 clear and effectively ending the contest.
Luke Cannon's converted try and two Ahmed penalty goals extended the margin further, with England's late scores through Jonny Weimann, Tate Williams and a second Shields try in the dying moments providing a degree of respectability to the scoreline.
Giliomee, one of the standout performers on the night, will face an anxious wait ahead of the final after his yellow card for a challenge in the air was upgraded to a 20-minute red, which may rule him out on Saturday.
France, who beat New Zealand 26-22 in the first semi-final, await in the final at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi at 18h30 on Saturday evening.