This past weekend it was widely thought that the Junior Springboks had opened up an unassailable lead in the U20 Rugby Championship after thrashing Australia, but the job isn’t done yet.
To recap, the Junior Springboks scored eight tries to three, albeit two of those penalty tries conceded by Australia in an ill-disciplined first half, with South Africa ultimately cruising to a 56-17 victory.
It was a result that took the team to 10 log points after two rounds, but there was initially a mix up after it was thought that this put them out of reach of Argentina and New Zealand on the log. Yet it’s now been confirmed that those two teams are still technically in the running as they actually have five points apiece – rather than four, as previously reported.
What caused this confusion with the Junior Springboks’ standing?
The mix up stems from a sudden shift in how bonus points are awarded. For the last two years, the U20 tournament followed the “three-try spread” rule used in the senior Rugby Championship (where you only get a bonus point if you score three more tries than your opponent).
However, Sanzaar quietly reverted to the “old” system for this 2026 tournament – awarding a try-scoring bonus point for simply scoring four tries, regardless of the opponent’s score. This change was reportedly not communicated to teams, broadcasters, or even SA Rugby until the second round was already underway.
It was believed New Zealand got zero bonus points in their opening win against Australia (34-29), but under the “four-try rule,” New Zealand actually earned a bonus point in that match.
SA Rugby confirm latest standings
The updated standings reflect the scoring format that was agreed for the 2026 tournament.
- Win: 4 points
- Draw: 2 points
- Loss: 0 points for loss by more than 7 points
- Bonus 1 point for scoring 4 tries or more
- Bonus 1 point for loss within 7 points or less
The third round to be played on Saturday 9 May at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will now determine the winners of the 2026 Rugby Championship U20 tournament, but the Junior Springboks (with a +66 points difference) are still heavy favourites to either clinch the title by beating New Zealand outright, or by claiming a losing bonus point.
Only if the Baby Blacks beat South Africa by a huge margin and deny them any losing bonus points, they would tie on 10 points and win the title via the head-to-head tie-breaker.
The latest updated standings can be found by clicking here.
