Baby Boks start strong at Junior World Champs
THE Baby Boks made their intentions clear with an imposing start to their Junior World Championships campaign as they handed Scotland a 61-5 hiding in their opening clash of the tournament at QBE Stadium, North Harbour in New Zealand yesterday.
The SA under-20 side had a stuttering opening few minutes as the Scots scored the first punch with a try in the first 10 minutes by winger Jamie Ferndale.
Like Baby Boks captain Handre Pollard, Ferndale is playing in his third Junior World Championship after appearing at the 2012 competition in South Africa and also in France last year.
The Edinburgh-born winger is now only one try away from being joint leader of the all-time try-scorers in the competition. He has scored nine tries, with New Zealand's Zac Guilford and Ireland's Andrew Conway leading the stats at 10 tries each.
It took the Baby Boks some time to settle in, especially at the scrums, where the burly South African pack was expected to dominate. "We were not clinical enough in that first half and also made too many errors," Pollard said after the game.
But they scored two converted tries by prop Pierre Schoeman and wing Sergeal Petersen to take a 14-5 half-time lead.
Whatever coach Dawie Theron said to his charges at the break worked wonders. The side returned rejuvenated in the second half, dominating the Scots in all areas, and in the process sending out a message to their fiercest opponents in their pool, hosts New Zealand. The Baby Blacks also came off with an impressive victory in their campaign opener, defeating Samoa 48-12.
"We came out better in the second half and once the forwards laid the platform for us, the backs could express themselves and manage to score," Pollard said.
The Baby Boks scored seven tries in the second half courtesy of Jesse Kriel (2), Lloyd Greeff (2), Malcolm Marx, Warrick Gelant and Aidon Davis.
"Scotland made it very difficult for us right from the start, and we had to fight our way back. The second half was very pleasing, and I think here our experienced players such as Handre and Sergeal came through very strongly," Theron said.
After playing the Baby Blacks on Friday, the SA side will be up against Samoa in their last pool match next Tuesday.
Defending champs England waltzed past Italy with an emphatic 63-3 win, while the other Pool A match saw Australia beating Argentina 36-17. In Pool B, Wales beat Fiji 48-19 and France defeated Ireland 19-13.
SA lead Pool C with New Zealand hot on their heels after the first round of matches. - Chumani Bambani
