Baby Blacks proud despite Final defeat
REACTION: Junior All Black head coach Milton Haig praised his side’s efforts despite going down to traditional rivals South Africa in the World Rugby Under-20 Final.
The Baby Blacks were outclassed on attack and defence by a resilient South African outfit in Rovigo, Italy, on Saturday evening, going down to their old foes by 15-23.
The New Zealanders came into the contest fresh from winning the U20 Rugby Championship on South African soil back in May, but the South Africans were simply too good throughout the World Rugby U20 tournament and, most importantly, in the Final.
Haig was visibly disappointed with the result, but praised his side for what he believed was a good tournament for them, despite not making it over the final hurdle.
“Firstly, I’m very proud of our group. It’s been a good tournament for us, and we have grown as a team,” Haig said.
Captain Manumaua Letiu added: “We’ve had an awesome lead-up [to this tournament].
“Since 2017, we’ve struggled in this competition, and we’ve spoken about the last couple of years.
“We highlighted the importance of building a good connection and culture as a good foundation for this team.
“With winning the TRC [Rugby Championship], we came into this campaign very excited.”
Manumaua admitted that discipline was a key issue in his side’s downfall against the South Africans.
“Our discipline with the red and yellow cards made it tough against a team like South Africa to play with 14 men for large parts of the game.”
