{"id":77592,"date":"2025-07-16T13:26:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T11:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=77592"},"modified":"2025-07-16T13:26:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T11:26:00","slug":"sa-and-nz-set-to-write-another-chapter-in-special-rugby-rivalry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=77592","title":{"rendered":"SA and NZ set to write another chapter in special rugby rivalry"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Wandile
Junior Springbok No 8 Wandile Mlaba gets tackled by the Baby All Blacks during the u20 Rugby Championship in Gqeberha, 11 May 2025. (Photo: Gallo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rugby rivalry between South Africa and New Zealand will enter another chapter on Saturday when the Junior Springboks face their NZ U20 counterparts in the final of the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship in Rovigo, Italy.<\/p>\n

The Junior Boks qualified for their first final appearance since 2014\u00a0when they defeated Argentina Monday evening in Viadana<\/a>, while New Zealand beat France in their semi-final played earlier in the day at the same venue.<\/p>\n

Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote spoke of the significance of the occasion set to happen on Saturday, highlighting the rivalry and rugby culture shared by both nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery child in South Africa and every child in New Zealand who has ever picked up a rugby ball dreams of this occasion,\u201d said Foote in the aftermath of his team\u2019s hard-fought victory over Argentina in Viadana. \u201cIt\u2019s a special moment, and they (NZ) are a special side. A final between these two teams is fantastic for the game of rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior Bok captain Riley Norton echoed his coach\u2019s sentiments, calling the final the \u201cultimate test\u201d for the South African Under-20 side.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t need any extra motivation for a final like this,\u201d said Norton. \u201cAs coach Kevin said, you dream of a match like this \u2013 facing the haka on Saturday, the history and tradition of rugby between SA and NZ is just unbelievable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love playing each other and have great respect for one another. It\u2019s going to be an 80-minute battle. We\u2019re extremely excited for Saturday, and I know the guys are up for it and very keen.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the SA U20s are excited for the final, Foote emphasised that the Junior Boks remain focused on growth and continuous improvement: \u201cWe\u2019ll keep improving, and the thing is that we\u2019ve played some awesome rugby in this tournament. I couldn\u2019t be prouder of this group.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told them in the changeroom (after the Argentina victory) how proud I am \u2013 to be on this journey with them is very special. They are absolute warriors and remain humble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foote also credited the recent U20 Rugby Championship, held in Gqeberha in May, as a crucial part of their preparation for the Italian tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the Northern Hemisphere teams have over 2,000 minutes of game time per calendar year for their younger players,\u201d the Junior Bok coach said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to get as much high-quality game time as possible with our players. The reality is that in the Rugby Championship, we were building towards the World Rugby U20 Championship, using it to build synergy and combinations and so we\u2019re extremely grateful for that tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Junior Boks enjoyed a non-training on Tuesday to recover from their energy-sapping semi-final against Argentina and will resume preparations on Wednesday at their base in Valpolicella outside Verona.<\/p>\n

The matchday squad to face New Zealand will be announced on Thursday afternoon. Saturday\u2019s final marks the first time the two sides meet in a World Rugby U20 Championship final since South Africa\u2019s memorable victory over New Zealand in the 2012 sold-out final at Newlands in Cape Town.<\/p>\n

Issued by SA Rugby Communications<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rugby rivalry between South Africa and New Zealand will enter another chapter on Saturday when the Junior Springboks face their NZ U20 counterparts in the final of the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship in Rovigo, Italy. The Junior Boks qualified for their first final appearance since 2014\u00a0when they defeated Argentina Monday evening in Viadana, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":77559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/77559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}