Junior Boks battle past plucky Georgia

WRAP: The Junior Springboks took a step closer to qualifying for the Junior World Championship semifinals after defeating hosts Georgia by 33-5 in a hard fought encounter.

The Junior Boks struggled to get into their rhythm in the opening quarter, with Georgia’s physicality coming to the fore.

South Africa’s superior physicality eventually outshone that of the hosts, which helped secure a second successive bonus-point victory in the tournament.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

The Junior Boks started the match off shaky as the ball bounced into touch past Jack Benade from the first whistle.

Georgia won a penalty after winning the line-out for a high tackle, but flyhalf Mate Makhardze missed a sitter.

The hosts ended up having the first say through winger Luka Tabatadze from a line-out set move in the eighth minute.

Luan Giliomee went off for a head injury assessment in the 17th minute and was replaced by Alzeadon Felix, but returned to the field at the 25-minute mark.

The Junior Boks finally crossed the whitewash through captain Siphosethu Mnebelele through a pick and drive off a line-out maul, which Georgia stopped short.

South Africa took the lead through captain Mnebelele, who grabbed a brace in the 32nd minute. Giliomee added the conversion for a seven-point lead.

Trouble came for Georgia tighthead prop Levani Ezieshvili, who received a yellow card for a head-on-head clash with Giliomee in the 39th minute.

The yellow card got upgraded to a twenty-minute red card before the start of the second half.

Continues below…

Georgia went down to 13 players 27 seconds into the second half when Tabatatze got sent to the sinbin for a deliberate knock-on.

Despite the two-player advantage, the Junior Boks struggled to breach Georgia’s resolute defence, which fronted up strongly without conceding a single point during that period.

The Junior Boks finally got some breathing space on the scoreboard through Cheswill Jooste, who scored from a crossfield kick by Giliomee as the flyhalf added the extras.

Georgia conceded another yellow card when Daviti Tsiklauri was sent to the sinbin for repeatedly collapsing the maul.

South Africa secured the bonus point try after Giliomee caught everyone off guard with a quick tap penalty to dot down in the 59th minute, and converted his own try in the process.

The visitors had the final say through Luke Cannon in the 79th minute to seal a hard-fought victory.

*See all the scores, scorers and results below!

Georgia 5-33 South Africa

Scorers:

For Georgia:
Try: Tabatadze

For South Africa:
Tries: Mnebelele 2, Jooste, Giliomee, Cannon
Cons: Giliomee 3, Felix

Twenty-minute red card (upgraded from yellow): Levani Ezieshvili (Georgia, 39′- Dangerous play: head-on-head clash in the tackle)

Yellow cards: Luka Tabatadze (Georgia, 41 – Cynical play: deliberate knock-on), Daviti Tsiklauri (Georgia, 59′ – Repeated team infringement – illegally collapsing the maul)

Teams:

Georgia U20: 15 Nikoloz Khalvashi, 14 Luka Tabatadze, 13 Data Akhvlediani, 12 Davit Barbakadze, 11 Leonide Saldadze, 10 Mate Makharadze, 9 Daviti Tsiklauri, 8 Mikheil Shioshvili, 7 Luka Narsia (captain), 6 Giorgi Zazadze, 5 Nikoloz Chkhortolia, 4 Giorgi Meparishvili, 3 Levani Ezieshvili, 2 Giorgi Agniashvili, 1 Luka Iaseshvili
Replacements: 16 David Archvadze, 17 Nikoloz Balanchivadze, 18 Saba Nozadze, 19 Andria Bilanishvili, 20 Irakli Kolbaia, 21 Temuri Dzodzuashvili, 22 Demetre Devdariani, 23 Davit Arobelidze

South Africa: 15 Akahluwa Boqwana, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Samuel Badenhorst, 12 Markus Muller, 11 Jack Benade, 10 Luan Giliomee, 9 Hendré Schoeman, 8 Kebotile Maake, 7 Luke Cannon, 6 Wasi Vyambwera, 5 JD Hattingh, 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Danie Kruger, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele (captain), 1 Oliver Reid.
Replacements: 16 Liam van Wyk, 17 Rambo Kubheka, 18 Luan van der Berg, 19 Jaythen Orange, 20 Risima Khosa, 21 Jayden Brits, 22 Jordan Steenkamp, 23 Alzeadon Felix.

Referee: Morgan White (HKCR)
Assistant Referees: Kevin Bralley (FFR) & Ben Connor (WRU)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)

Wales 47-0 Uruguay

Scorers:

For Wales:
Tries: Emanuel 2, Thomas, Ridgway 2, Leary, Bowen
Cons: Lucas 5, Leggatt-Jones

For Uruguay: None

Yellow cards: Osain Williams (Wales, 16), Dylan James (Wales, 40), Manuel Ponte (Uruguay, 74)

Teams:

Wales U20: 15 Tom Bowen, 14 Dylan Scott, 13 Bailey Cutts, 12 Jack Hoskins, 11 Brogan Leary, 10 Lloyd Lucas, 9 Cai Gealey, 8 Alex Ridgway, 7 Sam Morgan, 6 Deian Gwynne (co-captain), 5 Osian Williams, 4 Luke Evans, 3 Yestyn Cook, 2 Oscar Thomas, 1 Dylan James
Replacements: 16 James Talamai, 17 George Tuckley, 18 Isaac Godfrey, 19 Tom Cottle, 20 Evan Minto, 21 Sion Davies, 22 Carwyn Leggatt Jones, 23 Steff Emanuel,

Uruguay U20: 15 Nicolas Pittaluga, 14 Bruno Baccino, 13 Joaquin Fresnedo, 12 Vicente Alvarez, 11 Alfonso Fernandez, 10 Justo Ferrario Pereira, 9 Pierre Cotarmanac’h, 8 Ignacio Merli (captain), 7 Pedro Suarez, 6 Mateo Guarch, 5 Guillermo Curuchet, 4 Nicolas Mattsson, 3 Juan Manuel Sagario, 2 Sebastian Perez, 1 Dario Rodriguez
Replacements: 16 Jose Candia Sciarra, 17 Sebastian Dalmao Rivero, 18 Juan Francisco Bessio, 19 Felipe Costa, 20 Manuel Ponte, 21 Francisco Lawlor, 22 Matteo Acosta, 23 Bruno Primavesi

Referee: Robbie Jenkinson (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Soso Japaridze (GRU) & Shoti Tsagareishvili (GRU)
TMO: Paulo Duarte (FPR)

France 57-32 Spain

Scorers:

For France:
Tries: Avogadro 2, Frisach, Baret 2, Audebert 2, Frisach, Rates
Cons: Keletaona 3, Jurd 3

For Spain:
Tries: Marsinyac 2, Ejike Ibeoba, Narvarte, Salvador
Cons: Hafoka 2
Pen: Hafoka

Yellow cards: Yanis Basse (France, 28′), Alexandre Langlois (France, 33), Max Artigas (Spain, 45′)

Teams:

France U20: 15 Melvyn Rates, 14 Hugo Avogardo, 13 Diego Mascarenc, 12 Bastien Rasal, 11 Paul Cellio Zwiler, 10 Luka Keletaona, 9 Valentin Hutteau, 8 Lilian Baret, 7 Lucas Andjisseramatchi (captain), 6 Raphael Audebert, 5 Leo Michaux, 4 Alban Portat, 3 Zak Price, 2 Yanis Basse, 1 Edouard Jabeka Njocke
Replacements: 16 Elia Masi, 17 Matheo Frisach, 18 Alexandre Langlois, 19 Romeo Bonnard Martin, 20 Bobby Bissu, 21 Baptiste Tilloles, 22 Diego Jurd, 23 Adrien Drault

Spain U20: 15 Malakai Hafoka Toca, 14 Telmo Fisher Obieta, 13 Marcos López Camano (captain), 12 Oriol Marsinyac Garcia, 11 Pelayo Serrano, 10 Mateo Antem, 9 Bernat Fernández, 8 Bosco Vilallonga Martinez Cattaneo, 7 Unax Salvador, 6 Miguel Narvarte, 5 Unax Carballo, 4 Max Artigas, 3 Solomon Ibeoba, 2 Iván Farace, 1 Daniel Chico Ayo
Replacements: 16 Mauro Del Campo, 17 Joan Barcenilla D’Onghia, 18 Daniel Navarro, 19 Rocklyn Kenneally, 20 Manex Pujana Lendinez, 21 Manuel Vazquez, 22 Inigo Rapallo, 23 Mateo Aragon

Referee: Christopher Allison (SARU)
Assistant Referees: Saba Makharadze (GRU) & Shota Tevzadze (GRU)
TMO: Matt Rodden (HKCR)

Argentina 62-40 Ireland

Scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries: Avaca 3, Serpa, Pfister 2, Dande, Lescano, Giannantonio
Cons: Serpa 8
Pens: Serpa 2

For Ireland:
Tries: Handley, O’Shea, Deegan, McClean, O’Shea, Neill
Cons: O’Shea 5

Yellow cards: Daniel Ryan (Ireland, 30), Benjamin Ordiz Yujnovsky (Argentina, 47′)

Teams:

Argentina U20: 15 Simon Pfister, 14 Bautista Lescano, 13 Pedro Coll, 12 Benjamin Ordiz Yujnovsky, 11 Luciano Avaca, 10 Federico Serpa Laporte, 9 Juan Preumayr, 8 Federico Torre, 7 Jeronimo Sorondo, 6 Tomas Dande (captain), 5 Bautista Benavides, 4 Joaquin Pascual Viale, 3 Bautista Salinas Mallea, 2 Manuel Cueno Camargo, 1 Benjamin Farias Cerioni
Replacements: 16 Nicolas Cambiasso, 17 Fabrizio Cebron, 18 Federico Narvaez, 19 Felipe Hygonenq, 20 Basilio Canas, 21 Valentino Reggiardo, 22 Manuel Giannantonio, 23 Ramon Fernandez

Ireland U20: 15 Noah Byrne, 14 Charlie Molony, 13 Jack Deegan, 12 James O’Leary, 11 Daniel Ryan, 10 Tom Wood, 9 Christopher Barrett, 8 Diarmaid O’Connell, 7 Alex Lautsou, 6 Josh Neill, 5 Donnacha McGuire, 4 Joe Finn, 3 Sami Bishti (captain), 2 Rian Handley, 1 Max Doyle
Replacements: 16 Duinn Maguire, 17 Adam Cooper, 18 Blake McClean, 19 Dylan McNeice, 20 Ben Blaney, 21 James O’Dwyer, 22 Charlie O’Shea, 23 Robert Carney

Referee: Reuben Keane (RA)
Assistant Referees: Ben Connor (WRU) & Soso Japaridze (GRU)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)

Australia 53-17 Fiji

Scorers:

For Australia:
Tries: Brial 2, Farr-Jones 2, Kruger, Pritchard, Blank, Le Maitre, Grover
Cons: Mackay 3, Fowler

For Fiji:
Tries: Nauvasi, Roseruvakula
Cons: Ledua 2
Pen: Ledua

Yellow cards: Jacob Job (Australia, 18′), Savenaca Qabale (Fiji, 26′), Jehoshua Paul Serupepeli Ratulomai (Fiji, 35′), Eli Langi (Australia, 60′), Mosese Tamaniceva Tuvasu Tabuakoto (Fiji, 65′), Charlie Bird (Australia, 70′)

Teams:

Australia U20: 15 Wallace Charlie, 14 Tom Farr-Jones, 13 Zach Fittler, 12 Treyvon Pritchard, 11 Taione Taka, 10 Finn Mackay, 9 Sam Blank, 8 Isaac Fonua, 7 Marshall Le Maitre, 6 Eli Langi (captain), 5 Toby Brial, 4 William Ross, 3 Lehopoame Leota, 2 Ewald Kruger, 1 Jacob Job
Replacements: 16 John Greenfell, 17 Matthew Sauao, 18 Edwin Langi, 19 Kenneth Harris, 20 TJ Talaileva, 21 Angus Grover, 22 Jonty Fowler, 23 Charlie Bird

Fiji U20: 15 Netani Immanuel Shane Lesimaikimatuku, 14 Maleli Nauvasi (co-captain), 13 Tevita Vuniwaqa Ledua, 12 Sailosi Vodonaivalu Taka, 11 Sevuloni Rakoto Sauleirogo Satala, 10 Cale Maurice, 9 Isikeli Bari Ratu, 8 Ratu Epeli Roseruvakula, 7 Mosese Tamaniceva Tuvasu Tabuakoto, 6 Savenaca Qabale, 5 Setareki Turagacoke (co-captain), 4 Marley Chandra, 3 Jehoshua Paul Serupepeli Ratulomai, 2 Isaac Jacob Rauluni, 1 Marika Koroi
Replacements: 16 Ratu Osea Dasalusalu, 17 Sylvestre Vakauliafa, 18 Raymond Navunikaba, 19 Francis Peters, 20 Isoa Koroinawai, 21 Epeli Rokosemani Vocea, 22 William Tawakedina, 23 Savenaca Durusolo Vagadai

Referee: Luke Rogan (USAR)
Assistant Referees: Saba Makharadze (GRU) & Shota Tevzadze (GRU)
TMO: Francisco Gonzalez (URU)

England 68-40 USA

Scorers:

For England:
Tries: Lewis, Cunnison, Scola, Gorleku 2, Pearson, Lilley, Weimann, Treacey, Offiah
Cons: Keylock 9

For USA:
Tries: Darbishire, Beatty, Mitchell 3, Holder
Cons: Holder 5

Teams:

England U20: 15 George Pearson, 14 Zac Finch, 13 Nick Lilley, 12 Finlay Cunnison, 11 Tylor Offiah, 10 Finn Keylock, 9 George Newman, 8 George March, 7 Jack Lewis, 6 Seb Kelly (captain), 5 Freddie Ogden-Metherell, 4 Patrick Hogg, 3 Sonny Tonga’uiha, 2 Jerold Gorleku, 1 Oliver Scola
Replacements: 16 Kealan Freeman-Price, 17 Alan Poku, 18 Ollie Streeter, 19 Elliot Williams, 20 Connor Treacey, 21 Jonny Weimann, 22 Hugh Shields, 23 Sam Winters

USA U20: 15 Gavin Holder, 14 Blake Miller, 13 Dane Mitchell, 12 Jameson Beatty, 11 Finnian Love, 10 Jack Firebrace, 9 Spencer Huntley (captain), 8 Papaseea Matelau, 7 Franck Finicle, 6 Liam Hill, 5 Lyndon Bailey, 4 Pierce Kelly, 3 Tyler Trower, 2 Aiden Stewart, 1 Oliver Kirk
Replacements: 16 Sawyer Troupe, 17 Colin Donnelly, 18 Alfie Booth, 19 Jayden Williams, 20 Harrison Cluff, 21 William Darbishire, 22 Joseph Sarkees, 23 Marco Lapierre

Referee: David Vosalevu (FRU)
Assistant Referees: Kevin Bralley (FFR) & Mariam Goguadze (GRU)
TMO: Paulo Duarte (FPR)

New Zealand 36-26 Scotland

Scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries: Williams, Norrie 2, Pahulu, Falloon
Cons: Muliaina 4
Pen: Muliaina

For Scotland:
Tries: Preston, Roberts 2, Kelly
Cons: Dalziel 3

Teams:

New Zealand U20: 15 Cohen Norrie, 14 Kele Lasaqa, 13 Siale Pahulu, 12 Haki Wiseman (captain), 11 David Lewai, 10 Mika Muliaina, 9 Charlie Sinton (vice-captain), 8 Patrick Mauga, 7 Caleb Woodley (vice-captain), 6 Bradley Tocker, 5 Jake Frost, 4 Max Fale, 3 Ethan Webber, 2 Josh Findlay, 1 Henry Stuart
Replacements: 16 Alani Fakava, 17 Dane Johnston, 18 Alex Hewitt, 19 Johnny Falloon, 20 Micah Fale, 21 Jackson Hughan, 22 Logan Williams, 23 Kobe Brownlee

Scotland U20: 15 Rory McHaffie, 14 Dan Kelly, 13 Henry Kesterton, 12 Alex Bryden, 11 Nairn Moncrieff, 10 Jake Dalziel, 9 Asa Stewart-Harris, 8 Harvey Preston, 7 Jack Utterson, 6 Christian Lindsay, 5 Dan Halkon, 4 Alfie Blackett, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Joe Roberts (co-captain), 1 Oliver McKenna
Replacements: 16 Jamie McAughtrie, 17 Will Pearce, 18 Jackson Rennie, 19 Sam Byrd, 20 Oliver Finlayson-Russell, 21 Matthew Fick, 22 Ross Wolfenden, 23 Campbell Waugh

Referee: Gonzalo de Achaval (UAR)
Assistant Referees: George Selwood (RFU) & Giga Mshvenieradze (GRU)
TMO: Matt Rodden (HKCR)

Italy 41-25 Japan

Scorers:

For Italy:
Tries: Luisato, Falchetto, Casarin, Dinarte, Pelli, Varotto
Cons: Andretti 4
Pen: Andretti

For Japan:
Tries: Fukuda 2, Niwa
Cons: Niwa 2
Pens: Niwa

Teams:

Italy U20: 15 Pietro Celi, 14 Luca De Novellis, 13 Giacomo Falchetto, 12 Riccardo Casarin (captain), 11 David Luisato, 10 Roberto Fasti, 9 Mattia Andretti, 8 Davide Sette, 7 Jaheim Noel Wilson, 6 Antony Italo Miranda, 5 Fabio Salvanti, 4 Simone Fardin, 3 Luca Trevisan, 2 Valerio Pelli, 1 Christian Brasini
Replacements: 16 Ettore Dinarte Patricio, 17 Giacomo Messori, 18 Emiliano Mastropasqua, 19 Enoch Opoku Gyamfi, 20 Marco Spreafichi, 21 Carlo Antonio Bianchi, 22 Nikolaj Varotto, 23 Edoardo Vitale

Japan U20: 15 Ryuto Koga, 14 Shinnosuke Uchida, 13 Rio Iwakura, 12 Tsunehidemichi Fukuda (captain), 11 Isa Fukada, 10 Takeru Niwa, 9 Soshi Kataoka, 8 Akihiro Tsubone (captain), 7 Kise Sin, 6 Riku Fujikubo, 5 Masoto Hyakutake, 4 Kotaro Kumagae, 3 Haruto Sasaki, 2 Sota Miura, 1 Song Ha Ri
Replacements: 16 Seia Kawanai, 17 Keigo Aruga, 18 Kanta Kawagoe, 19 Taiga Yamazaki, 20 Masato Yanase, 21 Kohaku Suda, 22 Yuta Otabe, 23 Yura Morioka

Referee: Ru Campbell (SRU)
Assistant Referees: George Selwood (RFU) & Papuna Tchiqaberidze (GRU)
TMO: Francisco Gonzalez (URU)