Cape Town - Former Springbok lock Kobus Wiese says the performance of the Junior Springboks at the World Rugby Under-20 Championships has been unacceptable.
WRAP: World Rugby Under-20 Championship
The Junior Boks were crushed 39-17 by hosts England in their semi-final clash in Manchester on Monday night.
The South Africans trailed 31-3 at the break and tried hard to work their way back into the match, but missed opportunities cost them dearly.
Earlier in the tournament, South Africa also lost 19-13 to Argentina in the group stages.
Wins over Japan (59-19) and France (40-31) saw the Junior Boks reach the semi-finals.
Wiese, who played 18 Tests for the Springboks between 1993 and 1996, watched the game on Monday night and was not impressed by the team’s efforts.
He shared his views via his official Twitter page:
England U 20 teaching SA U 20 a rugby lesson! We have been outclassed and this must be a great concern to SARU.
— Kobus Wiese (@4KobusWiese) June 20, 2016
With all our talent in SA, surely this performance by our U20 side at the WC is not acceptable or makes any sense!
— Kobus Wiese (@4KobusWiese) June 20, 2016
England U20 out passed, out muscled and out classed SA U20! In fact, they made us look below average.
— Kobus Wiese (@4KobusWiese) June 20, 2016
The Junior Springboks will now face Argentina in the bronze playoff at the AJ Bell Stadium in Salford on Saturday, while England will host Ireland in the final.