SA U18 give Irish a rugby lesson

WRAP: The SA Under-18s were too good for their Irish counterparts and won their second match in the U18 International Series by 51-15 on a sunny Tuesday afternoon at Boland Landbou near Wellington in the Western Cape.

The SA U18s were on top in the first half, scoring four tries and two conversions to Ireland’s solitary try. Although the Irish defence improved significantly in the second half, they could not contain the hosts’ late flurry of tries as the South Africans finished strongly.

As was the case in the opening match against France, SA U18 captain Jacobus de Villiers was a live wire and his high work rate was rewarded with two of his team’s four tries in the opening period. The other tries were scored by wings Lamla Mgedezi and Anesu Kuzonyei, giving the SA side a deserved 24-5 advantage at half-time.

The hosts, who remain unbeaten after not losing a match in the previous two editions of this annual age-group international event, dominated the close exchanges and set piece from the outset, making it difficult for Ireland to gain any foothold in the contest.

Ireland lost their opening game by a single point to the SA U18 ‘A’ side last Friday in Durbanville and were determined to make amends in this second-round fixture, played in bright winter sunshine.

Following Alex Moloney’s solo try in the opening period, Ireland started the second half brightly when captain and scrumhalf Luke Coffey crossed for their second unconverted try to reduce the deficit to 24-10 shortly after the restart.

However, the SA side managed to put their opponents under pressure with a clever territorial game and soon added two tries, both scored by replacement hooker Charles Whitehead, to put the game out of reach.

Replacements Stefan van der Vyfer and Clement Makelele added two more scores to the SA tally later in the second half, while Ireland replacement outside back Johnny Wood bagged a third try for his side to make the final score 51-15 in favour of the South Africans.

Meanwhile, an improved second-half performance paved the way for a 20-0 victory for the SA Under-18 ‘A’ side over a determined Georgia team in their second-round match.

After struggling to adapt to the windy conditions in the first half, the South Africans delivered a much-improved performance after the break, adding two tries, a conversion and a penalty goal to their opening unconverted try to secure a comfortable win.

The two sides were involved in a fierce arm wrestle during the opening period, with both teams committing several handling errors as they battled to cope with the challenging conditions.

Drewyn Baron scored the only points of the first half when he finished off a promising move in the right-hand corner, giving the hosts a 5-0 lead at halftime.

Several personnel changes after the break helped spark the South Africans into life, with the home side producing a more controlled and effective display that yielded two further tries, and a long-range penalty goal from replacement playmaker Jaydon Viljoen, who made a significant impact off the bench.

Viljoen produced an inch-perfect crossfield kick for Ruan Genis to score out wide and added the conversion and penalty goal, while his assured distribution and game management provided further impetus to the SA attack.

The South Africans finished strong with Bernhardt Schulze crashing over from a free kick after the hooter to seal the deal.

Georgia fought bravely throughout but were unable to master the local conditions and ultimately had no answer to a South African side that recorded their second successive victory of the tournament, following their dramatic one-point win over Ireland in Friday’s opening-round encounter.

The final round of the series takes place at Stellenberg HS in Cape Town’s northern suburbs on Saturday. The SA U18 ‘A’ team take on France; Ireland face Georgia; and the SA U18s are up against England.

See below for Tuesday’s scores and scorers!

SA Under 18 51-15 Ireland U18

The scorers:

For SA U18:
Tries: Jacobus de Viliers 2, Lamla Mgedezi, Anesu Kuzonyei, Charles Whitehead 2, Stefan van der Vyfer, Clement Makelele
Cons: Achmat Behardien 2, Ethan van Biljon 2
Pen: Van Biljon.

For Ireland:
Tries: Alex Moloney, Luke Coffey, Johnny Woods

SA U18 ‘A’ 20-0 Georgia

The scorers:

For SA U18 ‘A’:
Tries: Drewyn Baron, Ruan Genis, Bernhardt Schulze
Con: Jaydon Viljoen
Pen: Viljoen

For Georgia: none