Junior Springboks: Date, kick off time for World Championship semi-final
· The South African
The four most successful teams in World Rugby Junior World Championship history will contest the 2026 semi-finals after the Junior Springboks, New Zealand, England and France won their respective pool deciders in Georgia on Tuesday.
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Defending champions South Africa – coming off a 52-33 victory over Wales – will face England, who held off a late Argentina fightback to win their final Pool C encounter 40-38 in Tbilisi to keep their hopes alive of a fifth title.
France and Australia played out an equally exciting Pool D decider in Kutaisi, captain Lucas Andjisseramatchi scoring twice in the first half as Les Bleuets ran out 34-29 winners, breaking Junior Wallabies’ hearts again just as they had in the 2019 final in Argentina.
Junior Springboks ready to kick off semi-final action
South Africa finished first in Pool A on 15 points while Wales ended second on 10 points. New Zealand clinched first spot in Pool B, also on 15 points, while England and France also qualified for the semi-finals by topping their pools.
The semi-finals are scheduled for Monday, 13 July, both at the Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi.
New Zealand take on France at 16:00, and the Junior Springboks’ clash against England kicks off at 18:30 (SA time).
Title defence alive and well
Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote praised his side’s resilience and attacking intent after they defeated Wales in their final pool match.
“We were a little bit passive in the beginning,” said Foote.
“But once we got into the game and built some momentum, I thought we created some really good try-scoring opportunities. There was a lot of attacking intent and the players showed good composure to take control of the match.
“We’ve achieved our first objective by coming through the pool stages, and now we look ahead to the semi-final. Some of these players have experienced knockout rugby at this tournament before, so we’ll draw on that experience and look forward to the challenge ahead.”