'Disappointed' Nhleko eyes medal prospects for Junior Boks: 'It's not over yet'

Junior Springbok coach Bafana Nhleko admits to disappointment following their semi-final defeat to Ireland in the World Rugby U20 Championship at Athlone Stadium.

At a packed and windy Athlone Stadium, the Junior Springboks' tournament ended with a 31-12 defeat to the U20 Six Nations champions in the semi-final.

South Africa had a strong start as they trailed 7-0 at half-time, but their hopes were dashed by a fiery Irish side in the second half.

"It was a disappointing result for us, especially given the way we started the first half," said Nhleko.

"We finished strong in our last game against Argentina and then continued that in the first half against Ireland, so our second half dip was not what we expected. We will have to go and have a look at what went wrong."

The Junior Boks now face England in their bronze playoff on Friday in Athlone.

Nhleko urged his side to move on from their Irish defeat and fight for a medal position.

"The review will show us where we came up short, but because of the nature of the tournament, we will need to move on from this defeat - the focus will now shift to England and the bronze final," said Nhleko.

"We still have a medal to win."

The South Africans have finished in third place more than any other team in the history of the competition and for Nhleko the only aim for Friday is to win.

"We seem to battle to get past the semi-finals over the years, but it is not over yet," he said.

"We are still in the competition with something to gain and that is where we are heading now with our preparation."

Nhleko feels the Junior Boks have another opportunity on Friday to showcase their worth as a group.

"The group have shown good growth over the last couple of months and have one more opportunity to lay down a