England stand between SA and final spot

– Junior Springbok backline coach Mzwandile Stick (right) said England would pose a different challenge to Argentina in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship semifinal on Tuesday, and he reiterated that the team had not achieved anything yet.

Speaking after the coaches’ review of the team’s final pool match in the tournament against Argentina, which the SA Under-20s won 72-14, Stick said while they could take many positives from the match, there was still hard work ahead to achieve their goal of lifting the trophy.

“We faced different challenges in our other pool matches, with the clash against France being in wet conditions, so we couldn’t play the type of rugby we wanted to play, while Georgia proved to be a tough side at home,” said Stick.

“We knew Argentina would test us and we had to make sure that we gave our best, and the players did very well. We put them (Argentina) under pressure in the scrums and lineouts, and the forwards laid a good foundation for the backs to get front-foot ball.

“As a team we are certainly moving in the right direction. But that said, the players are humble and they realise that we haven’t achieved anything yet.”

The Junior Springboks will face England in the first semifinal at 4pm on Tuesday, with New Zealand going up against France in the other semifinal.