Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote says he must still pinch himself at what the team achieved as they arrived back in South Africa with the World Rugby Under-20 Championship title.
The Baby Boks defeated the Junior All Blacks 25-13 in the final on Saturday in Italy to claim a second title after years of coming close. Foote and his fellow coaches led the team to a first victory in 13 years.
The coach said on Monday, as the team arrived back home, that the feeling of what they’ve achieved, still comes and goes, although it has not fully sunk in yet.
“Sometimes the feeling is you can’t believe it, and then you settle down and come here and see the people. It is special,” Foote said.
“For now, it doesn’t feel real. It feels like a dream. We didn’t focus too much on not having won the tournament in a while, because that adds pressure. We had a tough pool and that was enough pressure.
“There was England, the defending champions, we had to beat. Australia beat us in the U20 Rugby Championship, and Scotland were three points behind England in the Six Nations U20. We wanted to ensure that our pool games went well.
Cheering fans flocked to the airport to welcome home the triumphant #JuniorBoks on Monday, with Mr Mark Alexander saying: “Many of them have the potential to go on to higher honours, I am sure” – more here: https://t.co/irllJf7QEb 🏆#JourneyToGreatness #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/vfnm1Soyh7
— SA Junior Rugby (@SAJuniorRugby) July 21, 2025
“Our last message before that final to them was if you can be anything in the world, be yourself, and they played incredible rugby.”
Foote said the Southern Hemisphere tournament prepped them well for what awaited in Italy. While they lost to teams like the Junior All Blacks and the Aussies in Gqeberha, it allowed them to experiment with team selections to fine-tune their best squad for the U20 Championship.
Even when the Junior Boks kept changing their players for certain matches, the previous experience of playing together ensured they didn’t lose continuity during the tournament.
The Junior Bok coach is hopeful that his players can kick on from this major victory to make a name for themselves on the senior stage. Plenty of them will receive an opportunity during the upcoming Currie Cup for their respective franchises.
The Junior Boks get their try ⚡
Haashim Pead spots the space and Jaco Williams finishes it off 💪💪#SSRugby | #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/QhNiNWB7Ht
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 19, 2025
Speedsters Cheswill Jooste and Demitre Erasmus are signed up for the Bulls, while Junior Bok captain Riley Norton and centre Gino Cupido could feature for Western Province somewhere in the next couple of weeks.
“My hope for these players now is that they stay in the fight. They all have dreams to play for the Springboks. But the reality is that there will be a lot of players who never get the opportunity. They also have dreams to play in the United Rugby Championship.
“They must just keep believing in what they have done. If they do that, there will be plenty of names you’ll see in the future.”
