Junior Boks off to winning start at World Cup

WRAP DAY ONE: South Africa kicked off their World Under 20 Championship with a winning start when they disposed of Georgia 33-23 in Stellenbosch on Saturday.

The Junior Boks showed grit to grind out the win after taking a lead early in the game. But George fought back with determination.

At times it was a scrappy affair for the South Africans, especially in the second half, which was riddled with penalties and included a yellow card.

No.10 Jean Smith, son of Glasgow Warriors coach Franco Smith, enjoyed a successful night with the boot and deservedly was named Man of the Match.

It seemed the Georgians were set for an upset as they came out dominating the second half which saw them narrow the gap to just two points.

The young Smith kept a cool head and slotted two pressure penalties which gave some relief. A late try by Ethan Hooker sealed the match for the Junior Springboks.

South Africa now faces Italy in Paarl on Thursday.

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Job done for the hosts who pick up a hard-earned win 💪 🇿🇦#WorldRugbyU20s | @JuniorBoks pic.twitter.com/pKS09rribp

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 24, 2023

Argentina and Italy kicked off proceedings under a light blue sky.

With Italy having achieved a best-ever finish of third in the U20 Six Nations a few months ago, Argentina knew they would have to be on their mettle.

And the Azzurrini got off to a good start and were 8-0 up but the pressure of playing with 14 men for over an hour following Destiny Aminu’s red card eventually told and Los Pumitas finished the game as clear winners.

“Obviously losing a player after 15 minutes is a hard thing but that is not a reason for us not to play well. We didn’t play to our full capacity today,” said Italy captain Giovanni Quattrini.

Argentina captain and try-scorer, Eliseo Chiavassa, said: “We have a lot of things to work on for the next match but I am very happy.”

France ran in 11 tries to open their World Rugby U20 Championship account with a comfortable bonus-point victory over a determined Japan.

Les Bleuets, who lifted the trophy in the last two tournaments in 2018 and 2019, made the most of their size and power advantage to race away in the first 40 minutes, despite ending the half down to 13 players, with centre Nicolas Depoortere and replacement back-row Esteban Capilla both yellow-carded by referee Hollie Davidson, who became the first female referee of a World Rugby U20 Championship match.

England and Ireland played out only the second draw (34-34)  in the history of the pool stages of the U20 Championship.

A hugely physical contest between two behemoth packs featured some big collisions and came with three cards, including a yellow to both sides and a late red to Ireland centre, Hugh Cooney.

The result of the game was in doubt throughout with some missed kicks at goal from Ireland fly-half Sam Prendergast proving important to the final outcome.

New Zealand demonstrated their resilience by staging a stirring second-half fightback then holding off a late Welsh onslaught to hold on for a narrow 27-26 bonus point win at Paarl Gymnasium.

Wales were 19-5 up at the break but New Zealand scored 22 unanswered points in the third quarter with the wind at their backs with fly-half Taha Kemara making expert use of the conditions.
Two tries in three late second-half minutes from full-back Mason Gordon and winger Darby Lancaster as a determined Fiji tired handed Australia a hard-fought opening 46-37 win in an enthralling, momentum-shifting match at Danie Craven Stadium.

And a last-minute penalty from Jack Bowen pulled the Junior Wallabies beyond the seven-point lead to deny Fiji what would have been a deserved second bonus point.

Until then, Fiji had given more than as good as they got, and were in the lead late into the second half, after Junior Wallabies’ loose-head Marley Pearce’s initial yellow card for a dangerous tackle was upgraded to red by the TMO Bunker.

All the scores and scorers of Day One:

Argentina 43-15 Italy

For Italy:
Tries: Passarella, Odiase
Cons: Sante
Pens: Sante

For Argentina:
Tries: Baronio, Chiavassa, Soler, Roloti, Minoyetti, Elizalde
Cons: Baronio 4, Di Capua
Drop: Baronio

Red card: Ugiagbe Aminu (For Italy, 18′)

Teams:

Argentina: 15 Elizalde B, 14 Soler M, 13 Sanchez Varaloro F, 12 Giudice E, 11 Lucero I, 10 Baronio J, 9 Viola N, 8 Grondona B, 7 Bares F, 6 Chiavassa E (captain), 5 Roloti F, 4 Elias E, 3 Zanella R, 2 Bartolini T, 1 Medrano M
Replacements: 16 Minoyetti V, 17 Rapetti T, 18 Palazzi F, 19 Garcia Hamilton F, 20 Bildosola A, 21 Moyano A, 22 Di Capua V, 23 Gonzalez N

Italy: 15 Simone Brisighella, 14 Alessandro Gesi, 13 Dewi Passarella, 12 Nicola Bozzo, 11 Matthias Leon Douglas, 10 Giovanni Sante, 9 Sebastiano Battara, 8 Jacopo Botturi, 7 Odiase David, 6 Carlos Berlese Lizardo, 5 Pietro Turrisi, 4 Alex Mattiolo, 3 Marcos Franscesco Gallorini, 2 Giovanni Quattrini (captain), 1 Destiny Ugiagbe Aminu.
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Riccardo Bartolini, 18 Federico Domenico Pisani, 19 Enrico Pontarini, 20 Fabio Ruardo, 21 Lorenzo Casilio, 22 Fillippo Bozzoni, 23 Lorenzo Elettri

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Reuben Keane (RA), Christopher Allison (SARU)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)

England 34-34  Ireland

For England:
Tries: Opoku-Fordjour, Penalty Try, Cusick 2, Penalty Try,
Cons: Slevin 3
Pens: Slevin 2

For Ireland:
Tries: Prendergast, Hadden, McNabney, Quinn, McErlean, Cooney
Cons: Prendergast 2

Red card: Hugh Cooney (for Ireland, 75’)

England: 15 Sam Harris, 14 Tobias Elliott, 13, Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 12 Joseph Woodward, 11 Joe Jenkins, 10 Connor Slevin, 9 Charlie Bracken, 8 Chandler Cunningham-South, 7 Greg Fisilau, 6 Finn Carnduff, 5 Lewis Chessum (captain), 4 Harvey Cuckson, 3 Afolabi Fasogbon, 2 Finn Theobald-Thomas, 1 Asher Opoku-Fordjour.
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Archie McArthur, 18 James Halliwell, 19 Nathan Michelow, 20 Tristan Woodman, 21 Nye Thomas, 22 Louie Johnson, 23 Jacob Cusick.

Ireland: 15 Henry McErlean, 14 Andrew Osborne, 13 Hugh Cooney, 12 John Devine, 11 Hugh Gavin, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 James McNabney, 7 Ruadhan Quinn, 6 Diarmuid Mangan, 5 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 4 Evan O’Connell, 3 Paddy McCarthy, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 George Hadden.
Replacements: 16 Max Clein, 17 George Morris, 18 Fiachna Barrett, 19 Charlie Irvine, 20 Brian Gleeson, 21 Oscar Cawley, 22 Matty Lynch, 23 James Nicholson.

Referee: Luc Ramos (FFR)
Assistant Referees: Morne Ferreira (SARU), Griffin Colby (SARU)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)

France 75-12 Japan

For France:
Tries: Depoortere 2, Reus 2, Gazotti 2, Capilla, Ferte, Carbonneau, Liufau, Timo,
Cons: Reus 6, Mondinat 4

For Japan:
Tries: Omoto, Muti
Cons: Naramoto

France: 15 MR Ferte, 14 L Rouet, 13 N Depoortere, 12 P Costes, 11 MR Mouslin, 10 H Reus, 9 B Jauneau, 8 E Capilla, 7 N Zinzen, 6 MR Gazzotti, 5 L Nouchi, 4 B Liufau, 3 H Auradou, 2 T Duchene, 1 L Penverne.
Replacements: 16 B Massa, 17 A Kaddouri, 18 L Julien, 19 E Capilla, 20 A Timo, 21 L Carbonneau, 22 C Mondinat, 23 T Attissogbe.

Japan: 15 Kohso Nonaka, 14 Renji Oike, 13 Kengo Nonbaka, 12 Yoshiki Omachi, 11 Yoshitaka Yazaki, 10 Kanjiro Naramoto, 9 Asahi Doei, 8 Tenta Kobayashi, 7 Keito Hayashi, 6 Koki Miyashita, 5 Harry Willard, 4 Yuzuki Sasaki, 3 Riku Tomita, 2 Takashi Omoto, 1 Hampei Nishino.
Replacements: 16 Sena Hwang, 17 Tomoki Yumbe, 18 Kosuke Sugiura, 19 Ryotaro Nose, 20 Tomoki Kusuda, 21 Yutaro Takahashi, 22 Genki Ikuta, 23 Ryohei Imano.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Angus Mabey (NZR), Dylen November (SARU)
TMO: Matteo Lipirini (FIR)

Wales 26-27 New Zealand

For New Zealand:
Tries: Tangitau, Springer, Hainsworth, Clarke,
Cons: Kemara 2
Pens: Godfrey

For Wales:
Tries:Lewis, Edwards 2, Morse, Scarfe
Cons: Edwards 3

Wales: 15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Llien Morgan, 13 Louie Hennessey, 12 Bryn Bradley, 11 Harri Houston, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Archie Hughes, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Lucas De La Rua, 6 Ryan Woodman, 5 Jonny Green, 4 Liam Edwards, 3 Ellis Fackrell, 2 Lewis Lloyd, 1 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths.
Replacements:16 Sam Scarfe, 17 Josh Morse, 18 Louis Fletcher, 19 Evan Hill, 20 Seb Driscoll, 21 Tom Florence, 22 Harri Wilde, 23 Harri Williams

New Zealand: 15 Harry Godfrey, 14 Caleb Tangitau, 13 Aki Tuivailala, 12 Ajay Faleafaga, 11 Macca Springer, 10 Taha kemara, 9 Noah Hotham (captain), 8 Peter Lakai, 7 Sam Hainsworth-Fa’aofo, 6 Che Clark, 5 Will Stodart, 4 Tahlor Cahill, 3 Siale Lauaki, 2 Jack Taylor, 1 Ben Ake.
Replacements: 16 Raymond Tuputupu, 17 Malakai Hala, 18 Gabe Robinson, 19 Tom Allen, 20 Malachi Wrampling-Alec, 21 Jordi Viljoen, 22 Leo Gordon, 23 Codemeru Vai..

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Reuben Keane (RA), Christopher Allison (SARU)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)

Australia 46  Fiji 37

For Australia:
Tries: Bowron, Bloomfield, Lancaster, Vaihu, Leahy
Cons: Gordon 2

For Fiji:
Tries: Nalaga, Murray, Nagivetaua, Tagivetaua
Cons: Ravula 4
Pens: Ravula 3

Yellow card: Waqalala (for Fiji, 21’)
Red card: Pearce (for Australia, 54’)

Australia: 15 Mason Gordon, 14 Ronan Leahy, 13 Taj Annan, 12 David Vaihu, 11 Darby Lancaster, 10 Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, 9 Klayton Thorn, 8 Leafi Talataina, 7 Nick Baker (captain), 6 Lachlan Hooper, 5 Daniel Maiava, 4 Toby Mcpherson, 3 Nick Bloomfield, 2 Lia Bowron, 1 Marly Pearce.
Replacements: 16 Harrison Usher, 17 Max Craig, 18 Trevor King, 19 Ollie McCrea, 20 Ned Slack-Smith, 21 Teddy Wilson, 22 Jack Bowen, 23 Henry O’Donnell.

Fiji: 15 Tupeni Waqalala, 14 Sireli Misiwini, 13 Maika Tuitubou, 12 Epeli Waqaicece, 11 Bronson Lee, 10 Isaiah Ravula, 9 Phillp Baselala, 8 Judah Qoro Saumaisue, 7 Motikiai Murray, 6 Timoci Nakalevu, 5 Nalani May, 4 Mesake Vocevoce, 3 Breyton Legge, 2 Kavaia Tagivetaua, 1 Moses McGoon.
Replacements: 16 Joeli Nainoca, 17 Sitiveni Tamani, 18 Emosi Natubailagi, 19 Waisea Tudulu, 20 Sakenasa Senivono Nalasi, 21 Netava Saukuru, 22 Frank Ralogaivau, 23 Pateresio Finau.

South Africa 33-23 Georgia

For South Africa:
Tries: Letebele, Julius, Hooker
Cons: Smith 2
Pens: Smith 4

For Georgia:
Tries: Tsikhistavi, Tsirekidze, Babunashvili
Cons: Khutsishvili
Pens: Khuroshvili, Khutsishvili

Yellow card: Ghudian van Heerden (for South Africa, 62’)

South Africa: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Jurenzo Julius, 13 Katlego Letebele, 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Masande Mtshali, 10 Jean Smith, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Abulele Ndabambi, 7 Ghudian van Reenen, 6 Paul de Villiers (captain), 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Coetzee Le Roux, 3 Mawande Mdanda, 2 Juann Else, 1 Phatu Ganyane.
Replacements: 16 SJ Kotze, 17 Corné Lavagna, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Jannes Potgieter, 20 Gcinokuhle Mdletshe, 21 Neil le Roux, 22 Damian Markus, 23 Michael Annies.

Georgia: 15 V Mikadze, 14 L Tsirekidze, 13 T Kakhoidze, 12 G Shvelidze, 11 S Aptsiauri, 10 P Khutsishvili, 9 D Khuroshvili, 8 N Lomidze, 7 L Tsikhistavi, 6 R Zazadze, 5 G Nikoladze, 4 G Ghaniashvili, 3 B Tsikhistavi, 2 B Konelidze, 1 G Mamaiashvili.
Replacements: 16 N Babunashvili, 17 L Pkhakadze, 18 L Aptisiauri, 19 GGergedava, 20 T Ganiashvili, 21 S Jigauri, 22 G Kheladze, 23 L Khorbaladze

Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU)
Assistant Referees: Angus Mabey (NZR), Dylen November (SARU)
TMO: Matteo Lipirini (FIR)

Source @WorldRugby

Photo @JuniorSpringboks