Full marks for junior Boks
SA Under-20 coach Dawie Theron was impressed with his team's ability to stick to their gameplan in their 97-0 demolition of the USA on Wednesday.
The defending Junior World Champions ran rampant against the tournament newcomers in their opening match, and Theron said that given their dominance they could easily have lost focus and veered from the plan.
"I'm sure the temptation was there simply to have a go and run the ball at every opportunity. However, the players kept their focus and stayed within the game plan," said Theron.
The SA U20 coach was also pleased that he could give all his replacements some game time.
"In doing that, we kept most of the guys fresh, while we also gave the entire match squad a chance to play. This is an extremely difficult competition and it is vital that we keep our continuity and resist the temptation to change too much," added Theron.
South Africa scored 16 tries in their runaway win, and the team also collected a few noticeable milestones.
The 16 tries equalled their record for most tries in a match (v USA in 2008 and Fiji in 2011), while the 97-0 win is the third highest points scored by a winning team (behind SA's two centuries).
Wing Seabelo Senatla also tied the JWC tournament record for most tries scored by an individual in a single match (four others have scored four tries).
The South Africa Under-20 rugby team to face England in their second IRB Junior World Championship match on Sunday in La Roche Sur Yon will be named on Saturday.
No training was scheduled for Thursday and much of the day's activities were geared towards recovery. The team will resume preparations on Friday morning.
