Junior Boks coach Chean Roux says he takes full responsibility for their 46-29 loss to France at the World Rugby U20 Championship on Thursday.

South Africa trailed 29-0 after 28 minutes and 36-7 at the break, before an improved second-half performance added some respectability to the scoreline.

The try-scoring bonus point picked up by the Junior Boks was enough to see them qualify for the semi-finals, where they will play against England.

‘I think the players showed tremendous character in the second half to score four tries,’ said Roux.

‘We didn’t start off well, we were like rabbits in the headlights, while France were physical and they ran hard at us. But I take full responsibility for the result.

‘We will do our recovery, go back and look at the game, learn from our mistakes, and then we will take on England in the semi-final.’

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Looking forward, Roux said: ‘I think we need to go through our processes. We are not going to do things differently.

‘It is now a case of ensuring that we are mentally fresh for the England game. We’ve played against them before, so we know what to expect and we will be prepared for it.’

HIGHLIGHTS: France vs Junior Boks

Photo: Alexandre Dimou/Getty Images