Foote reveals why Giliomee didn't play in JWC Final
REACTION: Junior Bok head coach Kevin Foote revealed the reason why he opted not to select utility back Luan Giliomee for the Junior World Championship Final despite being available for selection.
Giliomee received a red card for playing a player in the air in the Junior Boks’ semifinal against England, but had it rescinded following a referral by the Foul Play Review Committee following a full disciplinary hearing.
*Also read: Junior Boks make it historic back-to-back titles
By the time Giliomee was cleared to play in the Final, which the Junior Boks went on to win 16-5 in an arm wrestle against France U20, Foote had already selected the team with Alzeadon Felix named at fullback.
Foote was asked why he opted to stick with the originally selected team despite his first-choice fullback being available, and he explained his reasoning for the decision.
“The selection thing has been so tough. We already finished training in preparation for the Final, and Luan [Giliomee] didn’t finish his hearing.
“One thing we wanted to do is take a very balanced and settled squad into the Final and none of that hanging above our heads.
“Look, I’ll always feel bad that Luan missed out, and I know he’ll go super far [in his career].
“But just having [Alzeadon] Felix, who played in the TRC [U20 Rugby Championship – he came to the JWC with us last year, and his combination with some of the backs was really important, and I thought he was outstanding tonight [Saturday].
“Again, I really feel bad about Luan, but I felt just having the team settled and ready to play is the most important thing.”
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Speaking on the Final, Foote admitted it was a stressful experience, but credited the leadership group and the team’s maturity despite not always getting the rub of the green.
“It was [frustrating to have tries disallowed]. During the first half, we didn’t have many opportunities, and we started playing better in the second half, thinking it would open up.
“But, again, the leadership was very good. The guys didn’t panic or drop their heads; they just kept going.
“That was a very stressful game to coach, but we got through it now. Georgia throughout this tournament was a big mental challenge for everyone, and I’m super proud of that.
“The guys will take a lot of learnings from this going forward in their lives, and when things get tough, they’ll know how to hang on.”
Foote added: “The leadership and not panicking, we’ve shown that the whole tournament. We’ve been behind against Wales and England.
“We played against hosts Georgia, who are so passionate and physical, and the guys kept finding a way.
“It became a bit of a trend of ours in the team talks. We spoke about South Africans always finding a way. There’s a lot of belief, and that’s something I’m super impressed with.
“Our attack has done a lot of good things during this tournament and our set-piece, but our defence wasn’t always where we wanted it to be, and tonight [Saturday] we really stood up.
“Again, I’m so proud of the guys because the French team is really big and they run really hard and came with wave after wave [on attack] and I think the defensive leadership was brilliant.”
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