THE BABY Boks will be keen on redeeming themselves tomorrow night when they take on Italy in their second match of the IRB Junior World Championships.

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SA U/20 flank Wian Liebenberg is tackled during the Boks' loss to Ireland

Julian Kiewietz

THE BABY Boks will be keen on redeeming themselves tomorrow night when they take on Italy in their second match of the IRB Junior World Championships.

Coming off their shock 23-19 reverse to Ireland on Monday, coach Dawie Theron’s troops are left with no choice but to win their remaining pool matches to stand a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages of the prestigious competition.

Tomorrow’s clash (6.45pm), set to take place at the University of the Western Cape, has provided the Baby Boks with a perfect opportunity of gaining momentum as they take on Italy, the bottom feeders of their group.

Currently ranked 11th on the IRB world standings, the Italians will still be nursing the wounds of their bruising 64-5 defeat to the English on Monday, only to re-enter the battle-field four days later against a desperate, under-pressure junior Springbok outfit.

Taking into consideration their home ground advantage, the Baby Boks will definitely be feeling the brunt of performing well in this year’s competition.

Following their middling campaigns in recent years, Theron recently stated that there’s no better time for his team to clinch their first Under-20 Junior World Championship title and he will be using this to spur his boys on this weekend following their poor start.

“We need to go out and beat Italy well, and then beat England in order to give ourselves a chance to maybe top the pool,” said Theron.

“Ironically we now know exactly what is needed and we’ve got to get that honour back,” he added.

In other Pool B matches, England are set to take on Ireland at the Danie Craven Stadium tomorrow night and Theron will be keeping a close watch on those proceedings. An England victory will stand the Baby Boks in good stead, given they meet the English on the 12th.

Ahead of tomorrow’s match, Baby Bok front-ranker Steven Kitshoff seemed in high-spirits after tweeting: “The problems are fixed and we’re ready for our next game.”

The burly loose-head will have to lift his game following a poor performance on Monday night.