Thorough prep pays dividends for Baby Boks

SA RUGBY High Performance manager and Junior Bok assistant coach Louis Koen believes their players are “in the right state of mind” as they prepare for the last pool game of the World Rugby Under-20 Championships against France tomorrow.

The Junior Boks played two warm-up games against Georgia and also went on a successful UK tour before they headed to the south of France.

They produced big performances and massive wins against the Georgians, Scotland and Wales. And while their game against England wasn’t a runaway win like the other four, they still managed a convincing 26-12 one.

And Koen believes that those friendlies have equipped them for what’s to come.

“They have been in this situation before, as we tried to replicate this tournament on our UK tour by playing three tough games in a very short space of time. So the players are well prepared, they are in the right frame of mind and are really excited to go out there and do the job.”

“The fact that France are playing at home could be a positive or negative. They could either draw energy from their supporters in a full stadium, or it could place pressure on them. (But) there are things we still need to improve on (ourselves).”

In their tournament-opener the Junior Boks were put under a lot of pressure in the first half, but they fought back well in the second half. Against Ireland, they again struggled in the first half and managed to pull away in the last quarter.

“The players have gained confidence from the fact that they can see the hard work they put in for the last five months in Stellenbosch is coming through in the last 20 to 30 minutes of games.”

Chean Roux’s team currently top Pool C with 10 points following two bonus-point victories, while France are in second place with nine points.

The top team in each pool along with the next-best placed team overall will progress to the semi-finals.