Junior Boks down New Zealand to clinch first U20 Championship title since 2012

The victory came on a hot and humid night in Italy after an energy-sapping battle against a well-drilled and professional New Zealand side. 

While the Junior Boks impressed with their dynamic and expansive game throughout this tournament, their victory in the final was built on incredible defence, good discipline, and scoring crucial points when it mattered. They led 13-5 at the break and never wavered in their resolve against a New Zealand team that fought until the bitter end.

The Junior Boks got off to a dream start, with flanker Xola Nyali crashing over from an early maul. Vusi Moyo added the extras, and the 7-0 lead was a strong early return.

New Zealand leaned into their familiar "stack" attack—an approach that worked well in their previous clash with South Africa—but this time, the Junior Boks' defence stood firm.

A crucial cover tackle stopped the first threat, but from the resulting lineout, the Baby Blacks struck back. Lock Jayden Sa cleverly rounded the front of the lineout to score, trimming the deficit to two points.

Moyo responded quickly with a penalty to extend the lead to 10-5, and soon after, the momentum tilted further in South Africa's favour as New Zealand prop Sika Pole was sin-binned for a high tackle—later upgraded to a 20-minute red card.

The Junior Boks pushed hard to capitalise on the numerical advantage, but Moyo missed a drop goal attempt as they looked to turn dominance into points.

Nyali was forced off through injury and replaced by Stephanus Linde, but South Africa maintained the pressure, with New Zealand trying to force the game to cover for their missing man.

Centre Albie Bester saw yellow for a dangerous ruck entry, but Moyo slotted another penalty following an offside call to give the Boks a 13–5 halftime lead.

New Zealand came out strong after the break, stringing together multiple phases and earning a penalty, which flyhalf Rico Simpson converted to narrow the gap to 13-8 after 47 minutes.

But Moyo quickly hit back with another penalty, restoring an eight-point buffer at 16-8. The Junior Boks began to assert control, and when Haashim Pead crossed the line, it looked like the game was sealed - only for the TMO to rule the try out. Moyo also missed a penalty, but South Africa continued to dominate as the clock ticked into the championship minutes.

They were held up over the line and spent long periods camped in New Zealand territory without converting pressure into points—until three minutes from time, when Pead's perfectly judged chip found fullback Gilermo Mentoe in the corner to finally break through.

At 23-8, the contest was effectively over, and although New Zealand scored a late try, victory was secure.