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Haashim Pead of South Africa celebrates after scoring a try during the U20 Rugby Championship match between South Africa and Argentina at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on May 01, 2025 in Gqeberha, South Africa. (Photo by Richard Huggard/Gallo Images) 
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/the-future-is-very-very-bright-junior-springboks-boss-on-superstar-compared-to-antoine-dupont/
Beating any record set by Antoine Dupont is usually an indication that you are doing something right.
The French maestro’s record for metres gained for a scrum-half at the World Rugby U20 Championship pool stages stood for nine years until it was beaten by South Africa’s Haashim Pead this year in Italy.
The 20-year-old ran 232 metres in pool stage victories over Australia, England and Scotland, scoring five tries in the process, before adding another against Argentina in the semi-finals as the Junior Boks booked their place in the final on Saturday against New Zealand. With six tries in four games, the Lions No.9 unsurprisingly leads the competition in tries scored.
Whether they’re snipes from the breakdown, support runs, or long-range efforts, Pead has exhibited his pace, footwork and a reading of the game in a standout Championship, and the comparisons to Dupont have already started.
Fixture
World Rugby U20 Championship
New Zealand U20
South Africa U20
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s final in Rovigo, Junior Springboks head coach Kevin Foote discussed these comparisons his scrum-half has received with the Frenchman, and what he thinks is in store for his star.
“What a compliment to even be compared to Antoine,” Foote said of the scrum-half, who is set to start in an unchanged line-up in the final. “Hash is so humble, he won’t get ahead of himself. He really has everything, if I’m honest. He has the running game, he’s got the defensive game, he’s got a brilliant kicking game, but he’s also a very mature man for a guy of his age.
“The biggest thing that you want to look at is that he doesn’t get flustered as a game manager, he’s very, very consistent. I think his best attribute is how well he reads the game, that’s why he scores so many tries, he just understands the game so well.
“The future is very, very bright for Hash because he’s such a humble guy and he’s so hard working. Just being compared to Antoine is a compliment in itself. As long as he stays on this route, his family are well grounded and they’re great support for him, and I think he’s going to go really, really well.”
New Zealand were able to prevent Pead from scoring when the two sides met in the U20 Rugby Championship in May as New Zealand ran out 48-45 winners at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, and how they manage to contain him on Saturday will go a long way in determining who comes out victorious.
Pead’s skipper lock Riley Norton believes his side have “learnt a lot” from that defeat as they look to avenge their loss.
“We’ve learnt a lot about ourselves and our combinations and trusting one another,” he said. “I think that’s a big thing, our connections off the field. It’s been two months since we’ve played them and I think the growth and the combinations and the trust has been unbelievable.
“I think our systems, finding out what works for us in defence and attack and looking at those games and growing from it. We were always building towards the World Championship, and to look at how far we’ve come is incredibly special for me and the team and we’re just looking forward to playing them again. An unbelievable rugby nation, massive respect for them, and I know it’s going to be a battle for 80 minutes and really looking forward to it.
Norton, who represented South Africa U19 cricket at the World Cup last year, will be looking to emulate a feat achieved by the Springboks in 2023, who lost to the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship before defeating them in the World Cup final weeks later.
In the build-up to the match, the lock has received a message of support from 2007 World Cup-winning captain John Smit, as he and his team-mate look to copy what the Springboks – who face Georgia just hours before the U20 final – have done over the last half decade.
“We take a lot of inspiration from what the Springboks have done,” he added. “We’ll try and do what they’ve done for the last five or six years, which has been extremely special for us to watch and take inspiration from.
“We’ll try [to watch Rassie Erasmus’ side take on Georgia]. For the two games against Italy we got together here as a team and coaches, it was a good team bond for us where we could laugh and watch a lot of our heroes get to work. We take a lot of inspiration from them. It might be cutting it close, I’m not sure what the preparation will be like and of course guys have their own mental things that they need to switch on. So I’m sure a couple of guys will watch it if they can.”
Indeed, Norton’s rhetoric before the final could easily be mistaken for Siya Kolisi’s as he discussed the support his side has received from home.
“There is a lot of support from back home,” he said. “Some of my family is there and they’re just telling me constantly how South Africa is always watching and the people at home are extremely proud and excited to watch this game on Saturday and we want to play for those people, we want to play for the fans at home and put a smile on people’s faces.”