Baby Boks break the ice

– Two quick tries cooled off a heated Georgian challenge and enabled the South Africa under-20 team to take control and score an impressive 38-14 bonus point win in their second match at the Junior World Championship in Georgia yesterday.

The Baby Boks scored an impressive try through the influential No 8 Juarno Augustus in the 17th minute, which also helped spur on the hosts.

The Georgians dominated the middle stages of the first half and after having an earlier try disallowed through a marginal TMO call, prop Lasha Tabidze crossed over for a good try.

It was just reward for the Georgians and Baby Bok coach Chean Roux, would’ve been concerned.

However the boisterous Georgian crowd was silenced five minutes before half-time as gifted centre Wandesile Simelane weaved his way through for a spectacular individual try. Flyhalf Manie Libbok soon ran onto a kick ahead as the Baby Boks went to a 19-7 halftime lead.

The South African forward play had been much better than it was against France and it was a turn-over set-scrum that set up the attacking play that stretched the Georgian defence too far as Yaw Penxe showed his pace in finishing off the try in the corner.

Then came a second try to Simelane, with the Lions player taking the final inside pass after a 100m attack with the hard-running Libbok and the handling the stand-out features.

The Georgians showed plenty of spirit and scored a good try to replacement Giorgi Gogoladze but the South Africans had the final say with another try to flyhalf Libbok, his second of the game. Argentina is up next for the South Africans on Thursday. – ANA