JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Agonising Knock-outs
The Under-20 World Championship reached its knock-out rounds in Perpignan and Narbonne and the results were a delight to some and deep disappointment to others.
There is nothing like a knock-out match to make a chasm of difference between winning and losing, the ecstasy of victory, the bitter despondency of defeat, and even as it moves away from the match the glee and satisfaction remain on the one hand and the bitter memories of regret and questioning on the other.
For the winners, ambition burns bright; for the losers, there is the dull, hopeless gloom of defeat that will not go away.
It happened in both championship semifinals which determined that the final would be between England and France while South Africa and New Zealand slumped to defeat.
In the first one, England led 19-0 but the South Africans came back till in the end it was a conversion missed that counted after they had scored five tries to England’s four.
New Zealand and France each scored a converted try, but French penalties made the difference.
All the scores and scorers!
Championship semifinals
England 32-31 South Africa
England led 19-0 as they rattled up the points, their forwards dominant, their kicks profitable and their backs seizing chances.
But as the match wore on the South African forwards got more and more on top, producing five-metre line-outs and five-metre scrums as they battered at the English line in search of victory, but a handling error that gave speedy wing Jordan Olowofela the try that took the score to 32-19 with 20 minutes to play.
Two tries from close quarters nearly brought the South Africans the victory they so desired.
Scorers:
For England
Tries: Parton, White, Olowofela, Hardwick
Cons: Smith 3
Pens: Smith 2
For South Africa:
Tries: Uys, Nortjé, Ntlabakanye, Rass, Sandi
Cons: Lombard 3
Teams:
England: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Gabriel Ibitoye, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Tom Hardwick, 11 Jordan Olowofela, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Ben White, 8 Josh Basham, 7 Ben Curry (captain), 6 Ted Hill, 5 James Scott, 4 Joel Kpoku, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Henry Walker, 1 Alex Seville.
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Ciaran Knight, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Tom Willis, 20 Aaron Hinkley, 21 Rory Brand, 22 James Grayson, 23 Will Butler.
South Africa: 15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Tyrone Green, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Wandisile Simelane, 10 David Coetzer, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Muller Uys, 7 PJ Steenkamp, 6 Phendulani Buthelezi, 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Tiaan van der Merwe, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Erasmus, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Dian Schoonees, 21 Jack Hart, 22 Lubabalo Dobela, 23 Sihle Njezula.
Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand), Mathieu Noirot (France)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
New Zealand 7-16 France
France believed that they could do it and they did it. They beat New Zealand in a Pyrenees night in Perpignan with a stadium packed with over 16 000 people.
Scorers:
For France:
Try: N’Tamack
Con: Carbonel
Pens: Carbonel 3
For New Zealand:
Try: Plummer
Con: Plummer
Teams:
New Zealand: 15 Vilimoni Koroi, 14 Bailyn Sullivan, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Scott Gregory, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Harry Plummer, 9 Xavier Roe, 8 Devan Flanders, 7 Tom Christie (captain), 6 Waimana Riedlinger-Kapa, 5 Will Tucker, 4 Laghlan McWannell, 3 Tevita Mafileo, 2 Flynn Thomas, 1 Xavier Numia.
Replacements: 16 Ricky Jackson, 17 Sione Asi, 18 Kaliopasi Uluilakepa, 19 Will Tremain, 20 Hoskins Sotutu, 21 Jay Renton, 22 Kaleb Trask, 23 Jamie Spowart.
France: 15 Clément Laporte, 14 Lucas Tauzin, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Romain N’Tamack, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Louis Carbonel, 9 Arthur Coville (captain), 8 Jordan Joseph, 7 Cameron Woki, 6 Antonin Berruyer, 5 Kilian Geraci, 4 Thomas Lavault, 3 Demba Bamba, 2 Guillaume Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Maxime Lamothe, 17 Ugo Boniface, 18 Daniel Brennan, 19 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 20 Charlie Francoz, 21 Jules Gimbert, 22 Adrien Seguret, 23 Maxime Marty.
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
5th-8th Place
Argentina 39-15 Wales
Argentina seemed to have more energy, more purpose about their play and a greater attacking flair than Wales, who had started the tournament so well.
The lead changed hands in the first half as Ryan Conbeer scored a magnificent try from a line-out on Wales’s left and Corey Baldwin on the other wing gave Wales a 12-8 lead but the Pumitas ended the half winning 15-12, helped by a penalty try as they kept on destroying Welsh scrums.
Scorers:
For Argentina:
Tries: Mateo Carreras, Molina, Nogués, Avellaneda, Penalty try
Cons: De La Vega Mendía 3
Pen: De La Vega Mendía 2
For Wales:
Tries: Conbeer, Baldwin
Con: Evans
Pen: Evans
Wales: 15 Dewi Cross, 14 Corey Baldwin, 13 Ioan Nicholas, 12 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Cai Evans, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Ben Fry, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Tommy Reffell (captain), 5 Max Williams, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Iestyn Harris, 1 Rhys Carre.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Davies, 17 Dewi Lake, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Lewis Ellis-Jones, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Harri Morgan, 22 Ben Thomas, 23 Max Llewellyn.
Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Pablo Avellaneda, 13 Juan Pablo Castro, 12 Agustín Segura, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Joaquín de la Vega Mendía, 9 Manuel Nogués, 8 Santiago Ruiz, 7 Juan Ignacio Molina, 6 Joaquín de la Vega (captain), 5 Lucas Paulos, 4 Ignacio Gandini, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Leonel Oviedo, 1 Rodrigo Martínez.
Replacements: 16 Agustín Milet, 17 Gonzalo Hughes, 18 Agustín Mansilla, 19 Salvador Ochoa, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Gonzalo García, 22 Juan Bautista Daireaux, 23 Santiago Chocolates.
Referee: Damon Murphy (Australia)
Assistant referees: Flavien Hourquet (France), Mathieu Noirot (France)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Australia 44-15 Italy
Despite playing with 14 men after Michael Wood had been red-carded for putting a boot to a prone opponent’s head, and despite an exciting hat-trick by Italy’s left wing Giovanni D’Onofrio, Australia were always in charge and ended with a comfortable win. At half-time they led 15-10 but won the second half 29-5.
Scorers:
For Australia:
Tries: Hockings, Stewart, Francis, McReight 2, Kuenzle
Cons: Lonergan 3
Pens: Lonergan 2
For Italy:
Tries: D’Onofrio 3
Teams:
Italy: 15 Michelangelo Biondelli, 14 Albert Einstein Batista, 13 Andrea De Masi, 12 Francesco Modena, 11 Giovanni D’Onofrio, 10 Filippo did Marco, 9 Nicolò Casilio, 8 Lodovico Manni, 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Davide Ruggeri, 5 Edoardo Iachizzi, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Michele Mancini Parri, 2 Matteo Luccardi, 1 Guido Romano.
Replacements: 16 Niccolò Taddia, 17 Leonardo Mariottini, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 Antoine Koffi, 21 Luca Crosato, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Alessandro Fusco.
Australia: 15 Lawson Creighton, 14 Matt McTaggert, 13 Semisi Tupou, 12 Bayley Kuenzle, 11 Jordan Petaia, 10 Hamish Stewart, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Pat Tafa, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Michael Wood, 5 Harry Hockings, 4 Angus Blyth, 3 Tom Ross, 2 Efi Maafu, 1 Harry Hoopert.
Replacements: 16 Matt Faessler, 17 George Francis, 18 Charlie Hancock, 19 Hugh Margin, 20 Rory Suttor, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Will Harrison, 23 Mack Hansen.
Referee: Pali Deluca (Argentina)
Assistant referees: Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand), Flavien Hourquet (France)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
9th-12th Place
Scotland 45-29 Ireland
Suddenly Scotland rose up, reversed their Donnybrook defeat in the Six Nations and did so with a surprising big score.
Scorers:
For Scotland:
Tries: Trotter, Richardson 2, Graham, Onojaife, Rowe
Cons: Chapman 6
Pen: Chapman
For Ireland:
Tries: O’Brien, Byrne, Sylvester, Daly
Cons: Dean, Byrne 2
Pen: Byrne
Teams:
Scotland: 15 Paddy Dewhirst, 14 Logan Trotter, 13 Cameron Hutchison, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Callum McLelland, 9 Charlie Chapman, 8 Devante Onojaife, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Martin Hughes, 5 Marshall Sykes, 4 Jamie Hodgson, 3 Finlay Richardson, 2 Robbie Smith (captain), 1 Sam Grahamslaw.
Replacements: 16 Finlay Scott, 17 Ross Dunbar, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Charlie Jupp, 20 Guy Graham, 21 Charlie Gowling, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Fraser Strachan.
Ireland: 15 Michael Silvester, 14 James Hume, 13 Sean O’Brien, 12 Peter Sylvester, 11 Tommy O’Brien, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Hugh O’Sullivan, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Matthew Agnew, 6 Joe Dunleavy, 5 Jack Dunne, 4 Matthew Dalton, 3 Joe Byrne, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jordan Duggan.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Bryan O’Connor, 18 Jakub Wojtkowicz, 19 Charlie Ryan, 20 Jack Daly, 21 Jonny Stewart, 22 Conor Dean, 23 Tom Roche.
Referee: Egon Seconds (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jonathan Gasnier (France), Stéphane Coullon (France)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Georgia 24-22 Japan
For their second successive match, Japan came close to winning, losing by one point to Wales and now by two points to Georgia.
Scorers:
For Georgia:
Tries: Aprasidze, Japaridze, Tapladze 2
Cons: Aprasidze 2
For Japan:
Tries: Yamasawa, Ishida, Vailea
Cons: Mori 2
Pen: Mori
Teams:
Georgia: 15 Beka Mamukashvili, 14 Deme Tapladze, 13 Giorgi Tsiklauri, 12 Lasha Lomidze, 11 Otar Dzagnidze, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Arsen Machaladze, 7 Sandro Mamamtavrishvili, 6 Tornike Jalaghonia, 5 Lasha Jaiani, 4 Beka Saghinadze (captain), 3 Luka Japaridze, 2 Levan Papidze, 1 Guram Gogichashvili.
Replacements: 16 Tengiz Zamtaradze, 17 Giorgi Nutsubidze, 18 Lucs Azariashvili, 19 Luca Gelashvili, 20 Tengiz Gigolashvili, 21 Luka Dvalishvili, 22 Temur Tchitchinadze, 23 Kote Marjanishvili.
Japan: 15 Kyohei Yamasawa, 14 Halatoa Vailea, 13 Sioeli Vakalahi, 12 Yuto Mori, 11 Siosaia Fifita, 10 Hiroto Mamada, 9 Shinobu Fujiwara, 8 Asipeli Moala, 7 Hisanobu Okayama (captain), 6 Kai Yamamoto, 5 Ryuga Hashimoto, 4 Kanji Shimokawa, 3 Rento Tsukayama, 2 Miyu Arai, 1 Gakuto Ishida.
Replacements: 16 Yuichiro Taniguchi, 17 Yusuke Yamada, 18 Shohei Oyama, 19 Kaito Aibe, 20 Shota Fukui, 21 Atora Hondo, 22 Itsuki Kodama, 23 Yu Saruta.
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Philippe Bonhoure (France)
Final fixtures
Championship: England vs France
3rd Place: South Africa vs New Zealand
5th Place: Argentina vs Italy
7th Place: Italy vs Wales
9th Place: Georgia vs Scotland
11th Place: Ireland vs Japan
Previous results
Round One results
New Zealand vs Japan, 67-0
Wales vs Australia 26-21
England vs Argentina, 29-18
Italy vs Scotland, 27-26
South Africa vs Georgia, 33-27
France vs Ireland, 26-25
Round Two results
New Zealand vs Wales, 42-10
Australia vs Japan, 54-19
Argentina vs Scotland, 29-13
England vs Italy, 43-5
South Africa vs Ireland, 30-17
France vs Georgia, 24-12
Round Three results
New Zealand vs Australia, 27-18
Wales vs Japan, 18-17
England vs Scotland, 35-10
Italy vs Argentina, 30-26
France vs South Africa, 46-29
Georgia vs Ireland, 24-20
