Junior Boks stun reigning U20 champs England in thriller

WRAP: The Junior Springboks made a big step to the World Rugby U20 Championship semifinals when they beat the defending champions, England, by 32-22 in very hot and humid conditions in Rovigo, Italy, on Friday evening.

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South Africa showed massive defensive grit and attacking prowess, which helped them overturn a 14-point deficit to remain unbeaten in Italy and in the process, lay down a marker to other teams about their intentions.

The SA U20 were down 19-22 at the break, but in a blitz converted that into a 10-point lead early in the second half and then delivered a brilliant defensive display to secure a well-deserved win, which put them in a good position to secure a spot in the semifinals.

England started like a house on fire and were up 14-0 in the opening 12 minutes, mainly due to poor option taking and defence by their opponents, but South Africa came back with purpose after the first water break in a hot Rovigo.

They slowly but surely started dismantling the defending champions, and once they got their running game going, there was no stopping the Junior Boks.

Cheswill Jooste (wing) had a brilliant game on attack, and his stepping proved decisive in a win that proved the credentials of Kevin Foote’s side.

For England, scrumhalf Jonny Weimann scored early after a poor kick chase defence by the SA U20 and when Josh Bellamy converted, they led 7-0 in as many minutes.

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That lead jumped to 14-0 soon after when Connor Treacy (flanker) scored from inside pass that opened up the SA defence, with Bellamy hitting the mark again.

At this stage, the team in green and gold were not sharp on attack, forcing passes and dropping balls. The water break came just at the right time and when play resumed, it was a different Junior Bok side.

Jooste scored a brilliant try when he beat numerous defenders to dot down. Vusi Moyo converted after 23 minutes the tide started to turn.

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The speedy Jooste was involved in the next try as well, scored by scrumhalf Haashim Pead. The halfback started the move by going blind, Jooste again rounded his man, and from two quick recycles, Pead scored.

The conversion was wide, but after 28 minutes, the bad start was a thing of the past. An error in their 22 handed England a gift try after 33 minutes and stopped the good SA momentum, but that was just a fleeting setback.

Gilermo Mentoe (fullback) was put in space by a brilliant Gino Cupido break and pass. Moyo converted from out wide and suddenly scores were level again. From the restart, though, SA went offside at a ruck, and Ben Coen kicked a penalty goal to put England ahead again going into the break.

The second half belonged to South Africa, and the foundation was laid in a brilliant 10-minute spell after the restart.

A Moyo penalty goal drew them level and soon after another three-pointer, this time from 58m out found the target again and suddenly the Junior Boks were ahead for the first time, 48 minutes in.

That lead jumped to 10 points a minute later. Pead caught the England defence napping just outside the SA 22 and set of for a dazzling 78m run to score a try of the year contender.

Moyo converted and suddenly the pressure was on England to play catch-up. They tried their best, but found a hard-hitting, smothering SA defence too much to deal with.

They had some respite when Cupido was yellow 10 minutes from time for a high tackle, but even with an extra player on the field, England could not penetrate the SA defence.

The Junior Boks refused to lose the tackle collisions and even without the ball, dominated the England attacking efforts. Credit to the defending champions, who played till the very last minute, but the SA side just had too much fire in the belly to be denied a crucial win.

All the scores and scorers of Round One below…

 

France 35-21 Wales

The scorers:

For France:
Tries: Tilloles, Njocke, Daunivucu, Mousques, Bissu
Cons: Jurd 5

For Wales:
Tries: Woods, Bowen, Scott
Cons: Wilde 3

Teams

France: 15 Jon Echegaray, 14 Xan Mousques, 13 Robin Taccola, 12 Simeli Daunivucu, 11 Tom Leveque, 10 Diego Jurd, 9 Baptiste Tilloles, 8 Elyjah Ibsaiene, 7 Noa Traversier, 6 Antoine Deliance, 5 Corentin Mezou, 4 Bartholome Sanson, 3 Mohamed Megherbi, 2 Lyam Akrab, 1 Samuel Jean-Christophe.
Replacements: 16 Gabin Garault, 17 Edouard Jabea Njocke, 18 Lenny Alifanety, 19 Remy Lanen, 20 Bobby Bissu, 21 Simon Daroque, 22 Luka Keletaona, 23 Kalvin Gourgues.

Wales: 15 Jack Woods, 14 Elijah Evans, 13 Osian Roberts, 12 Steffan Emanuel, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Harri Wilde, 9 Sion Davies, 8 Evan Minto, 7 Harry Beddall (captain), 6 Deian Gwynne, 5 Dan Gemine, 4 Kenzie Jenkins, 3 Sam Scott, 2 Harry Thomas, 1 Ioan Emanuel.
Replacements: 16 Saul Hurley, 17 Louie Trevett, 18 Owain James, 19 Tom Cottle, 20 Caio James, 21 Ellis Lewis, 22 Harri Ford, 23 Osian Darwin-Lewis.

Referee: Morgan White (Hong Kong China)
Assistant referees: Marcus Playle (New Zealand), Luca Bisetto (Italy)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)

Australia 34-20 Scotland

The scorers:

For Australia U20:
Tries: Martens 2, Conway, Ata, Baxter, Guilfoyle
Cons: Harvey

For Scotland U20:
Tries: Duncan 2, Douglas, Findlay
Cons: Urwin, Coates

Teams

Australia: 15 Sid Harvey, 14 Cooper Watters, 13 Liam Grover, 12 Malakye Enasio, 11 Nicholas Conway, 10 Joe Dillon, 9 James Martens, 8 Beau Morrison, 7 Tom Robinson, 6 Eli Langi, 5 Eamon Doyle (captain), 4 Joe Mangelsdorf, 3 Edwin Langi, 2 Lipina Ata, 1 Nathaniel Tiitii.
Replacements: 16 Will Guilfoyle, 17 Finn Baxter, 18 Trevor King, 19 Ollie Aylmer, 20 Toby Brial, 21 Hwi Sharples, 22 Joey Fowler, 23 Xavier Rubens.

Scotland: 15 Jed Findlay, 14 Cameron van Wyk, 13 Johnny Ventisei, 12 Kerr Yule, 11 Fergus Watson, 10 Matthew Urwin, 9 Hector Patterson, 8 Reuben Logan, 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Ollie Duncan, 5 Dan Halkon, 4 Dylan Cockburn, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Joe Roberts, 1 Oliver McKenna
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Ben White, 18 Jamie Stewart, 19 Charlie Moss, 20 Mark Fyffe, 21 Noah Cowan, 22 Isaac Coates, 23 Jack Hocking

Referee: Lex Weiner (United States)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Franco Rosella (Italy)
TMO: Dan Jones (England)

England 22-32 South Africa

The scorers:

For England:
Tries: Weimann, Treacey, Bracken
Cons: Coen, Bellamy
Pen: Coen

For South Africa:
Tries: Pead 2, Mentoe, Jooste
Cons: Moyo 3
Pens: Moyo 2

Teams

England: 15 Josh Bellamy, 14 Ben Redshaw, 13 Nick Lilley, 12 Nic Allison, 11 Jack Bracken, 10 Ben Coen, 9 Jonny Weimann, 8 Kane James, 7 Samuel Williams, 6 Connor Treacy, 5 Tom Burrow, 4 Olamide Sodeke, 3 Vilikesa Sela, 2 Kepu Tuipulotu, 1 Ralph McEachran
Replacements: 16 Alfie Longstaff, 17 Oli Scola, 18 Tye Raymont, 19 Junior Kpoku, 20 Aiden Ainsworth-Cave, 21 Archie McParland, 22 Campbell Ridl, 23 Noah Caluori.

South Africa: 15 Gilermo Mentoe, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Gino Cupido, 12 Albie Bester, 11 Siyabonga Ndlozi, 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 Jaundre Schoeman, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Jean Erasmus, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Dominic Malgas, 23 Jaco Williams

Referee: Tomas Bertazza (Argentina)
Assistant referees: Marcus Playle (New Zealand), Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)

New Zealand 38-19 Georgia

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries: Saunoa 2, Treacy, Oudenryn, Vakasiuola, Kunawave
Cons: Simpson 4

For Georgia:
Tries: Khakhubia, Shioshvili, Kheladze
Cons: Takaishvili 2

Teams:

New Zealand: 15 Stanley Solomon, 14 Maloni Kunawave, 13 James Cameron, 12 Tayne Harvey, 11 Harlyn Saunoa, 10 Rico Simpson, 9 Dylan Pledger (captain), 8 Micah Fale, 7 Caleb Woodley, 6 Oli Mathis, 5 Aisake Vakasiuola, 4 Xavier Treacy, 3 Robson Faleafā, 2 Eli Oudenryn, 1 Sika Pole.
Replacements: 16 Manumaua Letiu, 17 Israel Time, 18 Dane Johnston, 19 Finn McLeod, 20 Mosese Bason, 21 Ollie Burra, 22 Will Cole, 23 Jack Wiseman.

Georgia: 15 Luka Takaishvili, 14 Luka Keshelava, 13 Sandro Meskhidze, 12 Nugzari Kevkhishvili, 11 Saba Sharvashidze, 10 Gigi Sirbiladze, 9 Giorgi Spanderashvili, 8 Mikheili Shioshvili, 7 Andro Dvali, 6 Nika Abesadze, 5 Gagui Margvelashvili, 4 Temur Tsulukidze, 3 Mate Gurtskaia, 2 Shota Kheladze, 1 Bachuki Baratashvili.
Replacements: 16 Mikheil Khakhubia, 17 Archil Nozadze18 Giorgi Dzagania, 19 Davit Baramia, 20 Giorgi Ardzenadze, 21 Temuri Dzodzuashvili, 22 Giorgi Jashi, 23.
Sandro Sesiashvili

Referee: Filippo Russo (Italy)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Jeremy Rozier (France)
TMO: Dan Jones (England)

Argentina 33-30 Spain

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries: Otano 2, Coll, Galvan, Penalty try
Cons: Senillosa 3

For Spain:
Tries: Garcia 2, Richardis, Ortega
Cons: Infer 2
Pens: Infer 2

Teams:

Argentina: 15 Pascal Senillosa, 14 Timoteo Silva, 13 Pedro Coll, 12 Felipe Ledesma, 11 Aquiles Vieyra, 10 Rafael Benedit, 9 Felix Corletto, 8 Agustín Garcia campos Fiszman, 7 Santiago Neyra, 6 Tomas Dande, 5 Alvaro Garcia Iandolino, 4 Tomas Duclos, 3 Tomas Rapetti, 2 Tadeo Ledesma Arocena, 1 Juan Rodriguez.
Replacements: 16 Jerónimo Otano17 Diego Correa, 18 Gael Galvan, 19 Valentino Freiria, 20 Pampa Storey, 21 Fabricio Griffo Zaradnik, 22 Ramon Fernandez Miranda, 23 Bautista Lescano.

Spain: 15 Beltran Ortega, 14 Pelayo Serrano, 13 Oriol Marsinyac, 12 Hugo Pichardie, 11 Jorge Garreta, 10 Lucien Richardis, 9 Nicolas Infer, 8 Marcos Lopez, 7 Unax Salvador, 6 Gael Almorin, 5 Liam Mcnamee, 4 Victor Ofojetu, 3 Hugo Gonzalez, 2 Pau Massoni, 1 Alberto Gomez
Replacements: 16 Marcos Perez, 17 Joan Barcenilla D’Onghia, 18 Guido Reyes Rendon, 19 Guardin Gonzalez, 20 Manex Pujana , 21 Nicolas Gali, 22 Gonzalo Otamendi, 23 Telmo Fisher

Referee: Peter Martin (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Katsuki Furuse (Japan), Riccardo Bonato (Italy)
TMO: Graham Cooper (Australia)

Ireland 16-18 Italy

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries: Yarr, Minogue
Pens: Wood 2

For Italy:
Tries: Gritti, Casartelli
Con: Todaro
Pens: Todaro 2

Teams:

Ireland: 15 Charlie Molony, 14 Paidi Farrell, 13 Ciarán Mangan, 12 Eoghan Smyth, 11 Derry Moloney, 10 Tom Wood, 8 Luke Murphy, 7 Éanna McCarthy (captain), 6 Michael Foy, 5 Billy Corrigan, 4 Mahon Ronan, 3 Alex Mullan, 2 Henry Walker, 1 Alex Usanov
Replacements: 16 Mikey Yarr, 17 Billy Bohan, 18 Tom McAllister, 19 Conor Kennelly, 20 Bobby Power, 21 Clark Logan, 22 Sam Wisniewski, 23 Daniel Green.

Italy: 15 Edoardo Todaro, 14 Alessandro Drago, 13 Federico Zanandrea, 12 Riccardo Casarin, 11 Jules Ducros, 10 Roberto Fasti, 9 Niccolo Beni, 8 Nelson Casartelli, 7 Carlo Antonio Bianchi, 6 Giacomo Milano, 5 Piero Gritti, 4 Mattia Midena, 3 Nicola Bolognini, 2 Nicolo Michele Corvasce, 1 Sergio Pelliccioli
Replacements: 16 Alessio Caiolo-Serra, 17 Sascha Mistrulli, 18 Luca Trevisan, 19 Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi, 20 Antony Italo Miranda, 21 Matteo Bellotto, 22 Riccardo Ioannucci, 23 Gianmarco Pietramala.

Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Jeremy Rozier (France), Alberto Favaro (Italy)
TMO: Dan Jones (England)

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