‘Defence is massive’: Junior Boks skipper Norton fires warning ahead of Australia clash
by Craig Taylor · KickOffThe Junior Springboks will be looking to make it two wins out of two when they take on Australia in the second round of fixtures at the U20 Rugby Championship.
And skipper Riley Norton knows that it won’t all be about attack on the day from South Africa, and that their defence will need to be on point too.
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Australia showed against New Zealand in their opening-round loss that they are prepared to move the ball from anywhere, and Norton knows that his team will have to master the defensive side of their game on Sunday afternoon.
“I think defence is massive,” Norton told reporters at the team announcement earlier this weekend.
“I think all the teams in this competition, Southern Hemisphere teams, they're great at attacking.
“Like coach [Kevin Foote] alluded to earlier, Australia specifically has great ballplayers. They're very skilled.
“So I think on Sunday, it will come down to which team is going to rock up on defence. And we do pride ourselves on our defence. I think it's a massive character thing, and it shows that love for each other.
“So defence in our game model is huge and something that we have put a lot of focus on during the week now to prep for Australia,” Norton added.
Sunday’s match kicks off at 16h10.