Junior Springbok coach Chean Roux was bitterly disappointed after his side went down to France in the U20 Championship semi-final in Rosario on Monday.
The loss dashed the SA U20’s hopes of advancing to the final for the first time since 2014 and potentially claiming just their second title overall, having last won the tournament in 2012.
The Junior Springboks will meet Argentina in the third- and fourth-place playoff on Saturday, after Australia defeated the hosts 34-13 in the other semi-final.
‘We were beaten by the better side,’ Roux said. ‘I don’t think we pitched up mentally for this game and we made some silly mistakes. You need a little bit of luck as well.
‘So there are no excuses, we were simply beaten by the better side today.’
With the bronze playoff left in the competition, Roux added that it would not provide too much solace in the disappointment of missing out on the title.
‘We’ve been there in the past, but that is not what we came for. We have a couple of injuries, so we will see who is fit to play the next game and we will take it from there.’
“I’ll be honest, it’s really not a good feeling!” @JuniorBoks captain Phendulani Buthelezi reflects on a disappointing loss against France in the semi-final at the #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/4jyFBv7ZZq
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 17, 2019
Photo: Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images
