Both South African sides completed the 2026 SA U18 International Series unbeaten on Saturday, with the SA U18 ‘A’ side beating France U18 51-26 in the morning and the senior SA U18 side following up with a 68-40 win over England U18 in the afternoon. Both matches were played at Stellenberg High School in Cape Town.
The SA U18 ‘A’ side had already beaten Ireland and Georgia in the opening two rounds. France pushed hard early, level at 21-21 inside the first half, before South Africa pulled clear either side of the break to close out a 51-26 win and a perfect three-from-three series record.
Flyhalf Jaydon Viljoen was central to the result.
SA U18 ‘A’ vs France U18 — key stats:
- Final score: 51-26
- Viljoen’s individual contribution: 21 points (1 try, 5 conversions, 1 penalty, 1 drop goal)
- Tries: Linakho Mehlomakulu, Max Malan, Lucritia Magau, Jaydon Viljoen, Thomas Saunders, Rufagon Hendricks, Ruan Genis
- Series record: 3 wins from 3
The senior SA U18 side had their own job to finish. Having already beaten France and Ireland in the opening two rounds, they went into the final round against England needing a result to make it a clean sweep across both South African sides on the same day.
England struck first through winger Archie Guyver, but South Africa responded immediately when hooker Charles Whitehead scored from a driving maul. The sides traded tries through a tight first half before South Africa pulled away after the break, scoring six second-half tries to close out a 68-40 win.
SA U18 vs England U18 — key stats:
- Final score: 68-40
- Result: third straight win of the series
- Series record: unbeaten across all three rounds (beat France, Ireland, England)
“Two South African U18 sides in one international series, both unbeaten. That’s astonishing!” – 🎙️Jay
Two unbeaten campaigns from two separate SA U18 sides, delivered on the same afternoon at the same venue, is a strong marker for the depth coming through South African schoolboy rugby this season.
There’s no Junior Boks (U20) action to report alongside this. The Junior Boks are between international windows, having already secured both the 2026 World Rugby Under-20 Championship and the SANZAAR Under-20 Rugby Championship earlier in the season.
📸 Images via SA Rugby / SA Junior Rugby
