Junior Springboks expect a cracker against Italy

The Junior Springboks plan to deliver an energetic effort at the Paarl Gymnasium on Thursday, where they will take on Italy in their second Pool C match of the 2023 World Rugby Under-20 Championship (4pm).

The team’s assistant coach, Lumumba Currie, is confident the full-house crowd will get good value for money and time spent, especially if they come in support of the SA side.

“We are expecting a cracker of a game.

“We are coming with energy and effort and Italy are a team who play with lots of passion and skill. So, we are expecting a fierce battle,” said Currie.

The Junior Boks were happy to have the first game behind them so they could focus on continuous improvement.

“We did struggle in certain areas against Georgia, but then, that first game was always going to be a tough one for us, as we have not played at that level for a while and intensity was something we needed to get used to.

“Now that it is out of the way, we are looking at stepping up in our effort and output.”

SA were put under huge pressure by the Georgian pack at scrum time and won just 57% possession on their own put-in — the worst return in round one — and so struggled to get their attack going.

They carried for the fewest metres (209) and made the fewest passes (76) in the match. “We did address that. It was all a matter of experience, I believe, and some of the changes to the team will reflect that.

“We did tell the players that all will get a run in the opening two games and that plan has not changed.

Better platform

“The changes are not in disrespect to Italy ... we just need to give everyone in the squad the opportunity to get into the tournament. “We need to lay a better platform this time and that is exactly what we intend to do.”

Currie said the experience of Corné Lavagna, who will start at loosehead, and Tiaan Wessels at lock will benefit them at scrum time.

“Blokkies [Lavagna] did play in last year’s Under-20 Summer Series, so has good experience at this level and Tiaan is a scrumming lock, so we are looking at good outcomes in that regard.”

The Italian challenge will be fierce, Currie predicted. “They will be hurting because of the big loss against Argentina as they are a better team than that.

“They came within one score of beating England and France in the Six Nations and play with lots of skill and flair.

“But we have our plan ready for this match and have worked hard to deliver the best outcome.”

Italy made 10 changes to their side and two positional changes, but for Currie that is of little significance. “We are just looking at ourselves and what we need to do in this game to get the win.

“We are looking for good improvement from the last match and I am confident that the result will be a positive one for us.”