Jimmy Staples and England ready for physically demanding semi-final against hard-edged South Africa
Jimmy Staples (centre) will be hoping he and England's forward pack can leave their mark against South Africa
©RFU Collection via Gaspafotos
An attritional battle awaits as England take on South Africa in the semi-finals of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship later today.
On the back of England's defeat to South Africa in the Nations Championship last week, the Young Roses will be looking to gain their revenge for the senior side and book their place in Saturday's final.
However, South Africa, as in the men's international game, have been a dominant force at Under-20 level.
The Baby Boks are the reigning Junior World Champions and steamrolled their pool this year with emphatic victories over Uruguay, Georgia and Wales respectively.
In those games, they have shown an intense physical edge - one that England and Harlequins hooker Jimmy Staples is relishing.
"If you look at our pack, we've also got strong ball carriers and we can be violent in the carry," he tells TRU. "We're going to take the game to them. We're going to be as ruthless as we can in that physical area.
"We've got to step up to the mark as a pack, and we look forward to the opportunity to do that."
Staples, a current Harlequins Senior Academy player, has enjoyed a breakthrough season with the London club, making six senior appearances whilst also gaining valuable experience with London Scottish in the Champ and Tonbridge Juddians in National One.
He says he has focused heavily on his set-piece work with Harlequins, while spells with London Scottish and Tonbridge Juddians - the latter under the guidance of Quins defence and transition coach Jordan Turner-Hall - have also aided his development.
"Men's rugby is obviously a step up in terms of physicality. Defence is also a big part of my game, and Jordi's helped me a lot with that.
"Being down there, spending time with him and picking up little things that really help your game has been good for me."
Staples played five times in Tonbridge Juddians' solid National One campaign, and the young hooker has also earned seven Under-20 caps this season, including two at this World Championship.
An abrasive ball carrier, Staples has already demonstrated his finishing ability from close range, scoring tries against Ireland and Argentina.
Overall, England have entertained throughout the tournament, running in 20 tries during the pool stage.
A strong understanding between forwards and backs, combined with their obvious physicality, has allowed Andy Titterrell's side to play with flexibility and attack from all areas of the field. They'll hope to continue that approach against South Africa at 5:30pm (BST) today.
"We have both forwards and backs working together, good ball carriers in both positions," Staples says. "I think if we can play our good stuff, we can sting them."
England have also had to dig deep defensively, making 445 tackles so far - a tally bettered only by Italy. However, despite that effort, they have still conceded 105 points.
Heading into a meeting with a South African side that leads the tournament for both tries scored and carries, England will need to tighten up defensively.
With danger throughout the South African backline and forward pack - from leading try-scorer and captain Siphosethu Mnebelele to highly rated centre Marcus Mueller and dangerous winger Cheswill Jooste, Staples acknowledges his side need to be on high alert.
"We can be better, but I think we've got our fixes on that. We know what we need to do as a squad."
Another key area will be the set-piece.
"Obviously it's a massive focus because it's a big part of our game. It's an opportunity for us to showcase our maul again and our scrum," Staples, who starts against South Africa, adds.
"We've worked a lot on our pick-and-go game and things like that. We are a very good pack in that sense. We really want to bring our 'A' game."
Starting quickly and playing to their strengths could prove crucial, with South Africa having begun slowly in two of their pool matches, trailing early against both Georgia and Wales.
England will look to emulate tournament hosts Georgia, who matched the Baby Boks physically and stayed within touching distance until the early stages of the second half.
They will need to front up physically, maintain their intensity and capitalise when attacking opportunities arise. With their power up front and in-form backs Will Knight and James Pater in their arsenal, England will believe they have the weapons to hurt South Africa.
There may also be extra motivation for England after South Africa ended their 2025 Junior World Championship campaign with a 32-22 victory in Rovigo.
With captain Connor Treacey, Nick Lilley and Aiden Ainsworth-Cave all involved in that defeat, Staples was asked whether that result adds an extra edge heading into today's semi-final.
"I think it definitely adds a bit, but we're very focused on ourselves and how we can stick to our process to do what we do best."
Elsewhere, France will look to move a step closer to repeating their 2023 triumph when they face serial champions New Zealand at 3pm (BST) today.
The winners of that semi-final will then watch on, along with many others, to discover whether England or South Africa will join them in the final.
England line-up: James Pater; Tyler Offiah, Nick Lilley, Will Knight, Sam Winters; Hugh Shields, Lucas Friday; Oli Scola, Jimmy Staples, Ollie Streeter; Elliot Williams, Aiden Ainsworth-Cave; Tate Williams, Seb Kelly, Connor Treacey (captain).
Replacements: Jerold Gorleku, Oliver Spencer, Sonny Tonga’uiha, Patrick Hogg, George Marsh, Jonny Weimann, Finn Keylock, George Pearson.
