Exclusive: SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer Hails Junior Boks Triumph as Proof Springbok Overhaul Is Working

South African Rugby is celebrating a landmark moment as the Junior Springboks ended a 13-year title drought by claiming the World Rugby U20 Championship crown in Italy. 

Their victory marks a significant shift in the country’s junior rugby pathway and has drawn high praise from SA Rugby leadership.

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer hailed the triumph as a product of deliberate structural reforms, including key coaching appointments and a stronger alignment between age-group teams and the senior national setup.

“The restructuring helped a lot,” Oberholzer said. 

“We focused solely on the structures at the juniors [u18 and u20s] and women’s rugby. Bringing in the right people, like Johan Ackerman and Kevin Foote, made a huge difference.”

The Junior Springboks returned to the final for the first time in 11 years and secured their first trophy since 2012. It was a long-awaited breakthrough, signaling a return to prominence for South Africa's youth rugby program.

A Unified Playing Identity

Oberholzer emphasised the importance of creating a seamless progression from the U18s through to the senior Springboks.

“We looked at what the DNA of South African rugby is and it starts at U18 level. You can’t have one system at U20s and something entirely different at the senior level,” he told SportsBoom.co.za. 

“Dave Wessels and the high-performance team worked hard to ensure the U20s play like the Springboks.”

The approach has paid off, with the U20s not only winning but doing so in a fashion that mirrors the physicality and tactical nous synonymous with the senior Boks.

Women’s Rugby on the Rise

While the Junior Boks headline the success stories, SA Rugby has also turned a sharp focus to the women’s game. 

Under the guidance of Wessels, national coaches like Daan Human are now contributing directly to the women’s high-performance setup. Yet challenges remain, particularly in the domestic professional landscape.

Currently, the Bulls Daisies are the only fully professional women’s team in South Africa, a bottleneck that SA Rugby plans to fix.

“We’re working quietly but seriously on launching a six-team professional women’s league,” said Oberholzer. 

"We’ve done the same with coaching structures as we did with the juniors [appointment of Swys de Bruin], and now we’re looking to give more women a platform to compete at a high level.”

In preparation for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, the Springbok Women have taken on world powers like Canada and now New Zealand, a strategic move driven by ambition.

"They asked to play more matches in preparation for the World Cup. We got Canada, who are the second best team in the world, to come to South Africa because they [Springbok Women] want to play against the best. We have New Zealand now for preparations for the World Cup."

"They set themselves a target to qualify for the play offs at the World Cup. A lot of attention is going to the women's game as well. We believe the professional league will assist us, so it won't only be the Bulls Daisies that can afford to play rugby but the [proposed] six teams."

Ackerman Heads to Loftus

The U20 victory has also come with movement. Assistant coach Johan Ackerman, a key figure in the Junior Boks’ success, has been named the new head coach of the Bulls after the departure of Jake White.

Ackerman, who guided the Lions to multiple Super Rugby finals in his previous stint, now inherits a Bulls squad already brimming with talent. His relationship with Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone reportedly played a role in the appointment.

Despite losing Ackerman from the junior setup, SA Rugby views his move as a win for the broader rugby ecosystem.

“It is a loss for us, but a win for South African rugby,” said Oberholzer. 

“Ackies is staying in the country and will now help grow talent at URC level. We’re proud of him and wish him well. Now, the challenge is to find someone to fill his shoes with the U20s.”