REVEALED: Rassie's hand in Baby Boks' success
South African Under-20 coach Kevin Foote and captain Riley Norton revealed Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus had a hand in their successful World Rugby campaign.
The Junior Springboks claimed a hard-fought 23-15 victory over old foes New Zealand in Rovigo at the weekend.
The victory marked their second World Championship win against the same opponent, the first 13 years ago, when Wiaan Liebenberg’s side toppled Bryn Hall’s charges at Newlands Stadium in 2012.
The Baby Boks entered the tournament having suffered losses during the U20 Rugby Championship to Australia and New Zealand, while recording a solitary win over Argentina.
They silenced the critics by defeating all three of their Southern Hemisphere rivals en route to the coveted trophy.
Captain Riley Norton could not contain his happiness and praised his side and the South African schoolboy system for their success.
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“It’s massive for us. A lot of people, not knowing our schoolboy system, would’ve been surprised,” Junior Bok captain Riley Norton said.
“We have the most talented in the world at school level, so we’re extremely grateful for that.
“If we can get the combinations and culture right, it will be tough to stop us.”
Coach Kevin Foote said that the contributions from the senior Springbok side made a massive impact on their success and credited Rassie Erasmus and his management for their input into the side.
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“We do work quite closely with the Springbok team,” Foote said.
“Rassie [Erasmus] is very kind with his time, and the same counts for his management team.
“The nice thing is we’re champions with the men’s [senior team] and we’ve got the Sevens and now the Junior [world] Championship as well.
“The game in our country is in such a great place, and that comes from the love for the sport, but also the love for our country and how much it means to us.
“We’ve had lots of input from the [Boks] defensive coach [Jerry Flannery] and their medical team and have been very well supported, which we are grateful for.
“More importantly, just how much they inspired us to be better for South Africa has been important, and we are very grateful.”
Foote, who had coaching stints with UCT in the Varsity Cup and the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby, added that the victory is the best rugby moment of his coaching career.
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“This [moment] is No.1 in my coaching career for sure.
“I’m just so grateful to have returned to South Africa. I love our country and the Springboks as a brand.
“I also enjoy working with this age group, so to be on a journey with these young men since November has been incredibly special.
“I’ll never take that for granted, and for that I’m extremely grateful.
“This is my No.1 rugby moment without a doubt.”
