'Future Boks' showed promise in tournament opener

REACTION: They only played one game in the Under-18 international series, against Georgia at Stellenberg High School on Monday, but South Africa U18 ‘A’ coach Heinrich Martin was grateful and pleased his team took their opportunities in their match, which ended in a 20-3 triumph for the hosts.

The tragic circumstances of last week, when a French player was swept out to sea and the team deciding to return home, resulted in a revision of the fixtures, with only one game for the SA U18 ‘A’ side against Georgia, while the SA U18 first XV will only play two matches.

The SA U18 ‘A’ team, playing with a strong breeze in their favour in the second half, scored two converted tries after the break to take the game away from the gritty Georgians.

Georgia defended well in the first half, stopping the South Africans in their tracks with good tackles and aggression at the breakdown.

Afterwards, Martin said he was pleased by the way his players responded to the challenge, especially in the second period of a very competitive encounter.

“We expected a physical battle from the Georgians because they are known to be physical,” said Martin, who is the Director of Rugby at Milnerton High School in Cape Town.

“I was happy with the way we scrummed against them and our maul was also good, especially towards the end of the first half.

“We started to apply more pressure because we realised that they were struggling to keep up with the pace, and so the plan was to hit them through the middle and then to go around them. It worked nicely and opened the space for us.

“We pride ourselves on our scrums and mauls and we worked on those aspects when we were together for a week in Johannesburg after the Under-18 Craven Week.”

Martin commended the players for their efforts: “We played against a quality Georgian side who made us fight right until the end for a good victory. Our task is to mould these boys into future Junior Springboks, and I think they showed plenty of encouragement.”

In Monday’s opening fixture, Ireland kicked off the tournament with an impressive 42-28 win over England, this after the Irish led 21-7 at half-time.

The second round takes place at Paarl Gimnasium on Friday when Georgia and England meet in the first fixture at 13.30, followed by the clash between the SA U18 and Ireland at 15.30.