Baby Boks beat NZ in a classic Final
WRAP: South Africa ended a 13-year drought in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship.
The Baby Boks beat their New Zealand counterparts 23-15 at Stadio Mario Battaglini, in Rovigo, on Saturday.
South Africa thoroughly deserved their win, with the eight-point margin flattering a young Kiwi side.
With two minutes remaining, the Baby Boks held a 15-point (23-8) lead, before a late consolation score narrowed the gap.
Both teams made a litany of errors, coughing up numerous scoring opportunities, especially as fatigue set in, in the final quarter.
An emotional Baby Bok captain, Riley Norton, described it as the greatest day of his life.
“It is something we will cherish it for a long time to come,” Norton said.
“We said we have to show up physically, and the guys did that for 80 minutes.”
* To recap all the drama, CLICK HERE!
South Africa exerted pressure straight from the kick-off, forcing New Zealand to kick the ball out in their own 22. Having been so impressive during their tournament with their incisive back play, this time the Baby Boks proved they could play more directly too, Xola Nyali scoring the game’s first try from a driving maul.
They then produced an incredible defensive set to keep out New Zealand phase after phase. But South Africa were eventually penalised and from the resulting line-out, New Zealand came up with a clever trick play for Jayden Sa to touch down in the corner.
Time and space on the ball were rare as the teams cancelled each other defensively, combining impressive speed with dominant tackling.
South Africa edged further ahead with a Vusi Moyo penalty, but they couldn’t capitalise when New Zealand lost Mosese Bason to a yellow card, upgraded to a 20-minute red.
After Moyo made it 13-5 from the kicking tee, South Africa lost Albertus Bester to a yellow card of their own to even up the numbers and leave the game still in the balance at half-time.
It was New Zealand who started the second half on the front foot, but they had to make do with three points from a Rico Simpson penalty after more heroic South Africa defence.
The gap was down to five points, a one-score game. As the tension rose, errors from both teams began to creep in. But South Africa was starting to gain dominance in the scrums. Another penalty from Moyo made it 16-8 as the final quarter approached.
From the next dominant scrum, Hassiem Pead appeared to have scored the decisive try, only for the referee to rule it out. Another scrum, another South Africa penalty – but this time Voyo pulled his kick wide, his first miss of the night.
With New Zealand losing a second player to the sin bin, South Africa began to turn the screw in open play too. It was fitting that the decisive try was made by a moment of genius from Pead, arguably the player of the tournament. The scrumhalf’s inch-perfect kick ahead was touched down in the corner by Gilermo Mentoe. This time, Voyo made no mistake with his kick, the conversion taking the lead out to more than two scores.
There was still time for New Zealand to grab a consolation try through Maloni Kunawave , but their wait for a first U20 title since 2014 will go on for at least another year.
* Earlier, Argentina put the disappointment of missing out on the Final behind them by beating France 38-35 to clinch third place.
Los Pumitas scored the opening try, prop Diego Correa touching down after a series of pick-and-goes. Les Bleuets hit back through Jon Echegaray, and they looked to be pulling away with further tries either side of half-time.
But Argentina refused to be beaten and scored five second-half tries, four through their unstoppable driving maul, to take revenge for their 52-26 pool stage defeat to the French.
Argentina even showed their subtler side when Pascal Senillosa gathered Ramon Fernandez Miranda’s delicate chip through to score under the posts.
France captain Simeli Daunivucu admitted his team were “really disappointed” not to win the game and the tournament but gave credit to Argentina.
Los Pumitas captain Felipe Ledesma said: “We always knew the potential we had so I’m very proud of my team. We worked so hard for this win. We made history. That was what we proposed and we achieved that. It’s unforgettable.”
* There was more payback in the Fifth-place play-off, where Australia beat England 68-40 after going down 33-30 to the same opposition during the pool phase.
All the scores and scorers follow below …
Eleventh-place play-off
Spain 37-38 Ireland
The scorers
For Spain
Tries: Massoni, Gomez, Cuesta, Ofojetu, Richardis
Cons: Infer 2, Otamendi
Pens: Infer 2
For Ireland
Tries: Scott 2, Molony, Green, Walker 2
Cons: Wood 4
Teams:
Spain: 15 Beltran Ortega, 14 Jorge Garreta, 13 Oriol Marsinyac, 12 Hugo Pichardie, 11 Pelayo Serrano, 10 Lucien Richardis, 9 Nicolas Infer, 8 Manex Pujana, 7 Marcal Carreras, 6 Unax Salvador, 5 Liam McNamee, 4 Victor Ofojetu, 3 Guido Reyes Rendon, 2 Pau Massoni, 1 Alberto Gomez.
Replacements: 16 Marcos Perez, 17 Daniel Chico, 18 Hugo Gonzalez, 19 Guardin Gonzalez, 20 Marcos Lopez, 21 Nicolas Gali, 22 Gonzalo Otamendi, 23 Unax Zuriarrain.
Ireland: 15 Daniel Green, 14 Charlie Molony, 13 Jonny Scott, 12 Eoghan Smyth, 11 Derry Moloney, 10 Tom Wood, 9 Will Wootton, 8 Oisin Minogue,7 Éanna McCarthy (captain), 6 Michael Foy, 5 Donnacha McGuire, 4 David Walsh, 3 Tom McAllister, 2 Henry Walker, 1 Alex Usanov.
Replacements: 16 Luke McLaughlin, 17 Paddy Moore, 18 Jack Ryan, 19 Billy Corrigan, 20 Bobby Power, 21 Chris O’Connor, 22 Gene O’Leary Kareem, 23 Paidi Farrell.
Referee: Tomas Bertazza (Argentina)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Luca Bisetto (Italy)
TMO: Graham Cooper (Australia)
Ninth-place play-off:
Georgia 22-7 Scotland
The scorers
For Georgia
Tries: Kheladze, Shioshvili, Gurtskaia, Bolkvadze
Con: Bolkvadze
For Scotland
Try: Logan
Con: Urwin
Teams:
Georgia: 15 Giorgi Bolkvadze, 14 Luka Keshelava, 13 Data Akhvlediani, 12 Nugzar Kevkhishvili, 11 Sandro Meskhidze, 10 Temur Dzodzuashvili, 9 Giorgi Spanderashvili, 8 Mikheil Shioshvili, 7 Luka Narsia, 6 Nika Abesadze, 5 Gagi Margvelashvili, 4 Davit Baramia, 3 Mate Ghurtskaia, 2 Shota Kheladze, 1 Giorgi Turashvili.
Replacements: 16 Davit Archvadze, 17 Giorgi Meskhidze, 18 Giorgi Dzagania, 19 Nikoloz Chkhortolia, 20 Giorgi Ardzenadze, 21 Davit Tsiklauri, 22 Gigi Sirbiladze, 23 Sandro Sesiashvili.
Scotland: 15 Jed Findlay, 14 Jack Brown, 13 Johnny Ventisei, 12 Kerr Yule, 11 Fergus Watson, 10 Matthew Urwin, 9 Hector Patterson, 8 Reuben Logan, 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Oliver Duncan, 5 Bart Godsell, 4 Dylan Cockburn, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Seb Stephen, 1 Oliver McKenna.
Replacements: 16 Joe Roberts, 17 William Pearce, 18 Jake Shearer, 19 Charlie Moss, 20 Mark Fyffe, 21 Noah Cowan, 22 Isaac Coates, 23 Jack Hocking.
Referee: Griffin Colby (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Alex Frasson (Italy)
TMO: Graham Cooper (Australia)
Seventh place play-off:
Italy 31-23 Wales
The scorers
For Italy
Tries: Casartelli 2, Zanandrea
Cons: Braga 2
Pens: Braga 4
For Wales
Tries: Davies, Boshoff
Cons: Ford, Wilde
Pens: Ford 3
Teams:
Italy: 15 Edoardo Todaro, 14 Alessandro Drago, 13 Federico Zanandrea, 12 Riccardo Casarin, 11 Jules Ducros, 10 Francesco Braga, 9 Niccolo Beni, 8 Nelson Casartelli, 7 Carlo Antonio Bianchi, 6 Giacomo Milano (captain), 5 Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi, 4 Mattia Midena, 3 Bruno Vallesi, 2 Nicolo Michele Corvasce, 1 Sergio Pelliccioli
Replacements: 16 Sascha Mistrulli, 17 Nicola Bolognini, 18 Luca Trevisan, 19 Tommaso Redondi, 20 Piero Gritti, 21 Damien Mori, 22 Luca Rossi, 23 Riccardo Ioannucci
Wales: 15 Jack Woods, 14 Aidan Boshoff, 13 Osian Roberts, 12 Elis Price, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Harri Ford, 9 Sion Davies, 8 Evan Minto, 7 Harry Beddall, 6 Dan Gemine, 5 Luke Evans, 4 Kenzie Jenkins, 3 Owain James, 2 Evan Wood, 1 Cameron Tyler-Grocott.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thomas, 17 Ioan Emanuel, 18 Sam Scott, 19 Tom Cottle, 20 Caio James, 21 Ellis Lewis, 22 Harri Wilde, 23 Elijah Evans.
Referee: Marcus Playle (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Katsuki Furuse (Japan), Jérémy Rozier (France)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Fifth-place play-off:
Australia 68-40 England
The scorers
For Australia
Tries: Langi, Ekanayake 2, Harvey 2, Fowler, Watters, Enasio 2, Martens
Cons: Fowler 7, Harvey 2
For England
Tries: Tuipulotu, Ridl, Williams, Sela, Knight, Hammick
Cons: Coen 4
Teams:
Australia: 15 Sid Harvey, 14 Cooper Watters, 13 Dre Pakeho, 12 Malakye Enasio, 11 Shane Wilcox, 10 Joey Fowler, 9 Hwi Sharples, 8 Toby Brial, 7 Aden Ekanayake, 6 Eli Langi, 5 Eamon Doyle (captain), 4 Ollie Aylmer, 3 Edwin Langi, 2 Lipina Ata, 1 Lotu Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Barrett, 17 Nathaniel Tiitii, 18 Trevor King, 19 Joe Mangelsdorf, 20 Beau Morrison, 21 James Martens, 22 Joe Dillon, 23 Xavier Rubens.
England: 15 Josh Bellamy, 14 Jack Bracken, 13 Nick Lilley, 12 Nic Allison, 11 Campbell Ridl, 10 Ben Coen, 9 Archie McParland, 8 Kane James, 7 Samuel Williams, 6 Connor Treacey, 5 Tom Burrow (captain), 4 Olamide Sodeke, 3 Vilikesa Sela, 2 Kepu Tuipulotu, 1 Ralph McEachran.
Replacements: 16 Louie Gulley, 17 Oli Scola, 18 Tye Raymont, 19 Aiden Ainsworth-Cave, 20 Reggie Hammick, 21 Jonny Weimann, 22 Will Knight, 23 Noah Caluori.
Referee: Morgan White (Hong Kong China)
Assistant referees: Franco Rosella (Italy), Alberto Favaro (Italy)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Third-place play-off:
France 35-38 Argentina
The scorers
For France
Tries: Echegaray, Bissu, Deliance, Leveque, Baret
Cons: Jurd 3, Keletaona 2
For Argentina
Tries: Correa, Cambiasso 2, Iandolino, Senillosa, Otano
Cons: Senillosa 4
Teams:
France: 15 Kalvin Gourgues, 14 Nolann Donguy, 13 Robin Taccola, 12 Simeli Daunivucu, 11 Xan Mousques, 10 Diego Jurd, 9 Simon Daroque, 8 Mathis Baret, 7 Baptiste Britz, 6 Antoine Deliance, 5 Corentin Mezou, 4 Charles Kante-Samba, 3 Mohamed Megherbi, 2 Lyam Akrab, 1 Samuel Jean Christophe.
Replacements: 16 Gabin Garault, 17 Lorencio Boyer Gallardo, 18 Edouard-Junior Jabea Njocke, 19 Romeo Martin Bonnard, 20 Bobby Bissu, 21 Baptiste Tilloles, 22 Luka Keletaona, 23 Jon Echegaray.
Argentina: 15 Pascal Senillosa, 14 Timoteo Silva, 13 Felipe Ledesma, 12 Valentin Maldonado, 11 Bautista Lescano, 10 Ramon Fernandez Miranda, 9 Valentino Reggiardo, 8 Santiago Neyra, 7 Pampa Storey, 6 Tomas Dande, 5 Alvaro Garcia Iandolino, 4 Tomas Duclos, 3 Gael Galvan, 2 Nicolas Cambiasso, 1 Diego Correa.
Replacements: 16 Jeronimo Otano, 17 Juan Ignacio Rodriguez, 18 Tomas Rapetti, 19 Tiziano Barrios, 20 Franco Benitez, 21 Fabricio Griffo, 22 Rafael Benedit, 23 Aquiles Vieyra.
Referee: Lex Weiner (USA)
Assistant referees: Peter Martin (Ireland), Filippo Russo (Italy)
TMO: Dan Jones (England)
Final
New Zealand 15-23 South Africa
The scorers
For New Zealand
Tries: Sa, Kunawave
Con: Cole
Pen: Simpson
For South Africa
Tries: Nyali, Mentoe
Cons: Moyo 2
Pens: Moyo 3
Red card: Sika Pole (New Zealand, 23 – foul play, head-to-head high tackle)
Yellow cards: Albie Bester (South Africa, 32 – foul play, dangerous clear-out), Xavier Treacy (New Zealand, 71 – repeated infringement, collapsing the maul)
Teams:
New Zealand: 15 Stanley Solomon, 14 Frank Vaenuku, 13 Cooper Roberts, 12 Jack Wiseman, 11 Maloni Kunawave, 10 Rico Simpson, 9 Dylan Pledger, 8 Mosese Bason, 7 Caleb Woodley, 6 Finn McLeod, 5 Jayden Sa, 4 Xavier Treacy, 3 Robson Faleafā, 2 Manumaua Letiu (captain), 1 Sika Pole.
Replacements: 16 Eli Oudenryn, 17 Israel Time, 18 Dane Johnston, 19 Aisake Vakasiuola, 20 Micah Fale, 21 Jai Tamati, 22 Will Cole, 23 Tayne Harvey.
South Africa: 15 Gilermo Mentoe, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Demitre Erasmus, 12 Albie Bester, 11 Jaco Williams, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Haashim Pead, 8 Wandile Mlaba, 7 Bathobele Hlekani, 6 Xola Nyali, 5 JJ Theron, 4 Riley Norton (captain), 3 Herman Lubbe, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Simphiwe Ngobese
Replacements: 16 Jaundré Schoeman, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Jean Erasmus, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Stephanus Linde, 22 Ceano Everson, 23 Dominic Malgas.
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Jérémy Rozier (France), Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)
