Future stars make their mark at World Rugby under-20 tournament (VIDEO)

South Africans may have thought they were about to relive the nightmare of the Springboks’ deflating defeat to Japan at the World Cup last year when the two nations’ under-20 sides came face to face on Tuesday.

With the Japan under-20 side leading 19-7 after 30 minutes of play‚ there was an air of panic in the Republic as well as at the Academy Stadium in Manchester‚ England.

At half-time the SA side was still trailing 19-14‚ and it took some strong words from coach Dawie Theron to force a turnaround in the second half which saw the Junior Boks claiming a 59-19 victory in the end.

“It was a tough lesson for us‚ but we adapted quickly‚” said Theron.

“I think we regrouped very well as a team after a hard team talk at half-time and we stuck to our structures‚ which worked in the end.”

It was perhaps Japan’s hat-trick hero‚ winger Ataata Moeakiola‚ who caught the SA side by surprise in the early stages of the game.

The three quick tries in the first half announced the huge Moeakiola as one of the players to look out for in the tournament.

The Junior Boks next face Argentina on Saturday at the AJ Bell Stadium.

There are already calls for improvement from the young SA charges.

“There are a few areas of our game that require a vast improvement before the Argentina clash‚ such as our breakdowns and defence. And we have to make sure that we play for the full 80 minutes‚” said SA assistant coach Nazeem Adams on Wednesday.

“That said‚ we are happy with the final score against Japan. We were a little frantic in the beginning and we made too many unforced errors‚ but luckily we managed to turn things around in the second half.”

While Moeakiola‚ dubbed the new Jonah Lomu‚ impressed for Japan; a winger named after the All Black great – Jonah Lowe – spearheaded the Baby Blacks to an imposing 55-0 win over Georgia.

Not only does Lowe play in the same position as the man he was named after‚ but he was also born just three days before Lomu celebrated his 21st birthday in May 1996.

After a hair-raising Haka‚ Lowe scored from the second minute of the match‚ opening the flood gates as the defending champs ran riot over a frail Georgian side.

If you thought “bending it like Beckham” applied only to soccer‚ think again.

When hosts England walked over Italy with a 48-10 victory‚ English captain Harry Mallinder left many in awe when he immaculately curled a conversion kick successfully from the corner.

The English signalled their intentions of reaching a fourth successive final in the tournament.

The opening day of the tournament was not without its surprises.

Ireland upset under-20 Six Nations champs and one of the favourites for the world title‚ Wales‚ with a come-from-behind 26-25 win.

The most shocking result was when Australia were defeated 15-10 by a confident Scotland side.

Old scores were settled in the age old rivalry between Argentina and France when the South Americans beat their European nemesis 24-15.

The next rounds of matches in the tournament will be played on Saturday.

In addition to the SA versus Argentina clash‚ Australia will want to bounce back against Italy and so too will Wales when they face Georgia.

France will take on Japan‚ the Baby Blacks play Ireland while the hosts England will face rivals Scotland.