While the South Africans produced some scintillating attacking rugby and crossed the tryline eight times, they will be the first to acknowledge there are areas that need attention before the knockout stages get underway next Monday. They will come up against England.

The Baby Boks topped Pool A with the win, but their performance was far from perfect. Handling errors, missed opportunities in the Welsh 22, and some defensive lapses allowed Wales to stay in the fight for much longer than South Africa would have liked.

Hendré Schoeman scored South Africa’s first try. Photo: Levan Verdzeuli / World Rugby

The defending champions endured a nightmare start as Wales stunned them with two converted tries inside the opening 10 minutes to race into a 14–0 lead. However, once the Junior Boks found their rhythm, their powerful pack and dangerous backline started taking control of the contest.

The fightback began in the 12th minute when Hendré Schoeman crashed over following a dominant South African scrum. Five minutes later, powerful centre Ethan Adams produced a moment of magic as he chipped ahead, with Yaqeen Ahmed gathering the ball before returning the pass to Adams, who finished off a brilliant try.

Ahmed added both conversions to level matters at 14–14, and from there the momentum shifted firmly towards the Junior Springboks.

Captain Siphosethu Mnebelele powered over from a trademark driving maul in the 26th minute to give South Africa the lead for the first time. When Welsh tighthead prop Jac Pritchard was sent to the sin bin shortly afterwards, the Baby Boks made the extra man count as Heinrich Theron scored their fourth try before the break to hand them a 26–14 halftime advantage.

South Africa continued where they left off after the restart, with Risima Khosa finishing a spectacular try in the corner to stretch the lead beyond 30 points.

However, Wales refused to go away quietly.

Liam van Wyk, who scored a brace of tries, is also a Grey College old boy. Photo: Levan Verdzeuli/World Rugby

A yellow card to Cheswill Jooste for a deliberate knockdown handed the Welsh a lifeline, and although Will Evans had a try ruled out by the TMO, Osian Lewis eventually crossed as Wales started putting pressure on the Junior Bok defence.

Replacement hooker Liam van Wyk restored some breathing space when he was driven over from another powerful South African maul, but the Welsh responded almost immediately through Tom Bowen after another lapse in concentration by the defending champions.

Van Wyk then grabbed his second try in similar fashion to settle the nerves, before Mnebelele returned to the field and also completed his brace from yet another dominant lineout drive. Ahmed’s sixth successful conversion pushed the score out to 52–26 with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Samuel Badenhorst and Ethan Adams attempting to charge down a Welsh player. Photo: Levan Verdzeuli/World Rugby

The closing stages became scrappy, with Mnebelele receiving a yellow card following contact at a ruck, although the incident was not upgraded to a red card.

Wales finished strongly while South Africa were reduced in numbers and forced into uncontested scrums, with Lewis Edwards crossing late for their fifth try.

Despite the imperfections, the Junior Springboks showed their championship pedigree by overcoming early adversity and producing some ruthless attacking rugby when it mattered most. They will now shift their focus to the semi-finals, knowing that another step towards back-to-back world titles awaits.

Scorers:

Junior Springboks: Tries – Hendré Schoeman, Ethan Adams, Siphosethu Mnebelele 2, Heinrich Theron, Risima Khosa, Liam van Wyk 2 Conv. – Yaqeen Ahmed 6

Wales: Tries – Caio James, Steffan Emanuel, Osian Lewis, Tom Bowen, Lewis Edwards Conv. – Carwyn Jones 3, Lloyd Lucas

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek sm