The Semi-Final Play-off Round of the IRB Junior World Championship is a thing of the past, with South Africa Under 20 and England Under 20 advancing to contest the FINAL and leaving Ireland Under 20 and New Zealand Under 20 to contest for 3rd place.

South Africa, the top seeds, beat New Zealand by 32 / 25 in a hard-fought game, socring the winning try with 2 minutes left on the clock.

England trounced Ireland by 42 / 15 and of course is the defending champions, looking to successfully defend their title.

 

 

Other results:

• France beat Wales 19 / 18
• Australia demolished Samoa by 53 / 16
• Scotland narrowly beat Italy by 21 / 18
• Argentina saw off Fiji by 38 / 12

 

South Africa 32 / 25 New Zealand:

A late try from hooker Corniel Els saw South Africa Under-20 beat hosts New Zealand 32-25 in their Junior World Championship semifinal.

The match was locked up at 25-25 going into the final stages of a thrilling match, but the Junior Springboks came up with the goods when it mattered most as a powerful maul saw Els crash over for the decisive try.

The visitors had trailed 15-10 at half-time, but finished strong to beat New Zealand for the second time in the tournament to knock the hosts out.

South Africa will face defending champions England in the final after they saw off the challenge of Ireland earlier in the day.

New Zealand had been overpowered by South Africa in the pool stages, but this was a much-improved performance that got off to the perfect start when hooker Hame Faiva raced down the touchline to open the scoring in the fourth minute.

South Africa captain Handre Pollard – who during the match became the leading point scorer at both JWC 2014 and in the competition’s history – pulled his side ahead after judging a pass well to intercept and race clear under the posts.

The Baby Blacks, with Damian McKenzie a livewire at fullback, hit back again through Tevita Li but South Africa would have been relieved to go in trailing just 15-10.

The seesaw nature continued after the break with Sergeal Petersen and Vincent Tavae-Aso trading tries before South Africa fought back from 25-20 down with tries from Andre Esterhuizen and Els.

Scorers:

South Africa U20:

• Tries: Handré Pollard (1), Sergeal Petersen (1), Andre Esterhuizen (1), Corniel Els (1)
• Cons: Handré Pollard (3)
• Pens: Handré Pollard (2)

New Zealand U20:

• Tries: Epalahame Faiva (1), Tevita Li (1), Vince Tavae-Aso (1)
• Con: Damian McKenzie (1)
• Pens: Damian McKenzie (3)

Yellow card: Andre Esterhuizen (South Africa, 30 mins, Dangerous tackle)

Teams:

South Africa U20: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Lloyd Greeff, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Handré Pollard (Captain),9 JP Smith, 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 Corniel Els, 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Abongile Nonkontwana, 20 Victor Sekekete, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23 Dan Kriel.

New Zealand U20: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Vince Tavae-Aso, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown (Captain), 12 TJ Faiane, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Tom Sanders, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Kyle Harris, 5 Geoffrey Cridge, 4 James Tucker, 3 Tau Koloamatangi, 2 Epalahame Faiva, 1 Atunaisa Moli
Replacements: 16 James O’Reilly, 17 Scott Mellow, 18 Tim Cadwallader, 19 Mathew Peni, 20 Troy Callander, 21 Josh Renton,22 Kaveinga Finau, 23 David Havili.

Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)

 

England 42 / 15 Ireland:

A blistering first-half display saw England blow first-time semifinalists Ireland out of the water and keep their hopes of defending the title alive, the Irish simply unable to live with the English power, running lines and line speed on defence.

Harry Sloan scored the first of England’s four tries before the break, but it was Howard Packman’s try that was the pick of the bunch, flyhalf Billy Burns spotting the Ireland defence had all been sucked in and kicking across for the wing to take in his stride and race over the line.

Ireland lost captain Jack O’Donoghue just before the break to a head knock, but without him they battled bravely and while the win was by then beyond them, they battled bravely to the finish and were rewarded with tries from Garry Ringrose and Alex Wootton. England were not to be denied a fifth final appearance with flanker Gus Jones adding their final try.

England coach Nick Walshe said: “We were happy with that but really only played for 50 minutes. The game was over as a contest by half-time, and whilst we did talk about that in the shed, the boys let the pedal off and all credit to the Irish they came back at us in the second half.

“We are trying to build the complete side and we feel we have a team who can take on either New Zealand or South Africa in the final. We still have things to work on – definitely one being playing an 80-minute game.”

Ireland coach Mike Ruddock said: “We spoke before the game about having to put on a world-class defensive performance to compete with England – and whilst I am very proud of the boys, we simply could not match them. That is a very good, complete England team. Their experience is immense. I was very proud with how we dug in and kept battling, that was the plus point.”

Scorers:

England U20:

• Tries: Harry Sloan (1), Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi (1), Howard Packman (1), Tom Woolstencroft (1), Gus Jones (1)
• Cons: Billy Burns (4)
• Pens: Billy Burns (2)
• Drop: Billy Burns (1)

Ireland U20:

• Tries: Garry Ringrose (1), Alex Wootton (1)
• Con: Ross Byrne (1)
• Pen: Ross Byrne (1)

Teams:

England U20: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Howard Packman, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Henry Taylor, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Gus Jones, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Tom Woolstencroft, 1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Alex Lundberg, 18 Harry Rudkin, 19 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 20 Joel Conlon, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Sam Olver, 23 Henry Purdy.

Ireland U20: 15 Cian Kelleher, 14 Ciaran Gaffney, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Dan Goggin, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Nick McCarthy, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 Frankie Taggart, 6 Peadar Timmins, 5 Ross Molony, 4 Stephen Gardiner, 3 Rory Burke, 2 Max Abbott, 1 Peter Dooley
Replacements: 16 Dylan Donnellan, 17 Denis Coulson, 18 Oisin Heffernan, 19 Darragh Moloney, 20 Rory Moloney, 21 Ryan Foley, 22 Conor McKeon, 23 Harrison Brewer.

Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)

 

Argentina 38 / 12 Fiji:

Fiji rallied after the break with two tries but by then the damage had been done with Argentina picking up their first win of the tournament to guarantee their place at the 2015 edition in Italy and avoid a last day battle to avoid relegation to the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy.

The Fijian scrum has struggled in each match and Argentina were awarded a penalty try after driving the pack backwards at a rate of knots. Argentina continued to pile on the pressure but only added a try through Santiago Alvarez to go in leading 21-0 at half-time.

Facunda Gigena and German Schulz scored tries – the latter collecting his own chip ahead as Argentina went the length of the field – for Argentina before Fiji came alive, offloading in every direction and being rewarded with tries from hooker Wilisoni Lagi and scrumhalf Tubuka Vueti.

Argentina, whose captain Patricio Fernandez became not only the leading point scorer at JWC 2014 but also in the tournament’s history in the match, had the final say though with replacement Lautaro Bazan Velez dotting down.

Argentina captain Patricio Fernandez said: “We are very happy. We played a good match so I am very proud of the team today.”

Scorers:

Argentina U20:

• Tries: Penalty Try (1), Santiago Alvarez (1), Facundo Gigena (1), German Schulz (1), Lautaro Bazan Velez (1)
• Cons: Patricio Fernandez (2)
• Pens: Patricio Fernandez (3)

Fiji U20:

• Tries: Wilisoni Lagi (1), Tubuka Vueti (1)
• Con: Tubuka Vueti (1)

Teams:

Argentina U20: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 German Schulz, 13 Santiago Alvarez, 12 Tomas Granella, 11 Rodrigo Etchart, 10 Patricio Fernandez (Captain), 9 Juan Bernardini, 8 Santiago Portillo, 7 Jose Deheza, 6 Tomas Lezana, 5 Ignacio Larrague, 4 Guido Peti Pagadizabal, 3 Tomas Ramirez, 2 Juan Ignacio Sanchez, 1 Facundo Gigena
Replacements: 16 Ignacio David Calles, 17 Ariel Del Cerro, 18 Enrique Pieretto Heiland, 19 Vittorio Tomas Rosti, 20 Lautaro Varo, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Bautista Ezcurra, 23 Federico Gimenez.

Fiji U20: 15 Livinai Tuicakau, 14 Aisake Rokobuli, 13 Poasa Waqanibau, 12 Adrea Cocagi (Captain), 11 Orisi Nawaqaliva, 10 Josese Kurukava,  9 Tubuka Vueti, 8 Vincent Sosefo, 7 Vasikali Mudu, 6 Ameniasi Natuiyaga, 5 Simione Naiduki,4 Lote Nasiga, 3 Apolosi Ranawai, 2 Wilisoni Lagi, 1 Aseri Robarobalevu
Replacements: 16 Semi Tuikoroalau Wakolo, 17 Jack Dreunimolea, 18 Samuela Tawake, 19 Paula Bukavece, 20 Marika Tokalauvere, 21 Marika Tivitivi, 22 Dion Fraser, 23 Elia Mroisio.

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)

 

Scotland 21 / 18 Italy:

Scotland jumped with joy after the final whistle blew to complete their comeback against Italy, who missed a last-minute penalty that would have tied the scores and taken the match into sudden-death extra-time in Pukekohe.

Italy had led 11-0 at half-time after Daniele di Guilo’s try and Filippo Buscema’s two penalties, but the captain also missed three kicks at goal that would have given the Azzurrini a more comfortable lead and his failure with the boot ultimately proved costly.

Scotland coach Sean Lineen’s half-time talk clearly had the desired effect with James Ritchie, Neil Irvine-Hess and Darcy Rae all touching down before the hour mark.

Italy hit back through Renato Giammarioli to cut the deficit to three and finished the stronger, but the Scottish defence held firm through more than 20 phases and were relieved when Buscema missed.

Scotland captain Tommy Spinks said: “The (half-time) message was buck up your ideas pretty much. We let ourselves down in the first half and it was the case of finding it in there to get the job done. A few harsh words and tough realities and we came out firing and are massively pleased with the performance.”

Scorers:

Italy U20:

• Tries: Gabriele Di Giulio (1), Renato Giammarioli (1)
• Con: Filippo Buscema (1)
• Pens: Filippo Buscema (2)

Scotland U20:

• Tries: James Ritchie (1), Neil Irvine-Hess (1), Darcy Rae (1)
  
• Cons: Blair Hutchinson (3)

Teams:

Italy U20: 15 Gabriele Di Giulio, 14 Daniele Di Giulio, 13 Mattia Bellini, 12 Gabriele Manganiello,11 Lorenzo Maria Bruno, 10 Filippo Buscema (Captain), 9 Maicol Azzolini, 8 Renato Giammarioli, 7 Marco Lazzaroni, 6 Federico Ruzza, 5 Andrea Trotta, 4 Riccardo Michieletto, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Adriano Daniele, 1 Francesco Vento
Replacements: 16 Marco Silva, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Paolo Buonfiglio, 19 Filippo Scalvi, 20 Matteo Cornelli, 21 Simone Parisotto, 22 Giacomo De Santis, 23 Matteo Gabbianelli.

Scotland U20: 15 Ruairidh Young, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Blair Hutchison, 12 Neil Herron, 11 Sam Pecquer, 10 Rory Hutchinson, 9 Alex Glashan, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Tommy Spinks (Captain), 6 James Ritchie, 5 Lewis Carmichael, 4 Neil Irvine-Hess, 3 Darcy Rae, 2 Sam James, 1 Jack Cosgrove
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Phil Cringle, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Andy Cramond, 20 Gabriel Carroll, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Gavin Lowe, 23 Christopher Dean.

Referee: Joaquin Montes (Uruguay)

 

Australia 53 / 16 Samoa:

Andrew Kellaway wrote his name into the JWC history books with a four-try salvo against Samoa, tying the record for the most tries in a single match and also taking his tally for the tournament to a record-equalling eight touchdowns.

Three of the wing’s tries came in the first 24 minutes as Australia came out firing, eager to banish the disappointment of missing out on the semifinals on point differential to New Zealand. He had to wait until the 57th minute for number four as Australia broke through the Samoan defence at will and made their opponents pay for numerous turnovers.

Australia scored eight tries in all with Brad Lacey grabbing a brace after impressing on the opposite wing and had passed the 50-point mark before Samoa crashed over for two tries through replacement prop Iafeta Luamanu and Sootala Fa’aso’o to give their vocal supporters something to cheer about.

Australia coach Adrian Thompson said: “This was our most impressive as far as putting our foot on the throat and makes not being in the top four even more frustrating. We watched the videos and thought New Zealand and South Africa went a bit lateral against Samoa so we wanted to be more direct.”

Scorers:

Australia U20:

• Tries: Andrew Kellaway (4), Brad Lacey (2), Jimmy Stewart (1), Lalakai Foketi (1)
• Cons: Jake McIntyre (5)
• Pen: Jake McIntyre (1)

Samoa U20:

• Tries: Iafeta Luamanu (1), Sootala Fa’aso’o (1)
• Pens: Johan Fagasua (1), William Talataina Mu (1)

Teams:

Australia U20: 15 Jonah Placid, 14 Brad Lacey, 13 Lalakai Foketi, 12 Jimmy Stewart, 11 Andrew Kellaway, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Angus Pulver, 8 Ross Haylett-Petty, 7 Rowan Perry, 6 Sean McMahon (Captain), 5 Jack Payne, 4 Tom Staniforth, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Harry Scoble, 1 Rory O’Connor
Replacements: 16 Matthew Sandell, 17 Cameron Orr, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Lolo Fakaosilea, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 Joe Powell, 22 David Horwitz, 23 Conrad Quick.

Samoa U20: 15 Luteru Laulala, 14 Johnny Samuelu, 13 Nathaniel Apa, 12 Paul Ah Him, 11 Aukuso Tuitama, 10 Johan Fagasua, 9 Mark Talaese, 8 Richard Mariota, 7 Henry Stowers (Captain), 6 Sootala Fa’aso’o, 5 Cameron Skelton, 4 Jotham Wrampling, 3 Louis Kapeteni, 2 Leif Schwenke, 1 Andrew Lemalu
Replacements: 16 Iafeta Luamanu, 17 Etimani Sului, 18 Fereti Saaga, 19 Giovanni Habel Kueffner, 20 Ezra Meleisea, 21 Emil Pittman, 22 William Talataina Mu, 23 Joseph Ikenasio.

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

 

France 19 / 18 Wales:

France gained revenge for the defeat which denied them a place in the semifinals by fighting back to beat Wales 19-18, although they had a nervous few seconds as Welsh flyhalf Angus O’Brien attempted a kick just inside the French half that would have won the match.

His kick drifted wide and Les Bleuets were able to breathe again and celebrate a result which means they will face Australia for fifth place at Eden Park on Friday. Jean Baptiste Singer’s try with 10 minutes to go had been converted by Baptiste Serin to put them in front for the final time.

Flank Jean Thomas had earlier given France the perfect start with a second-minute try, but scores from Jack Dixon and Tyler Morgan edged the Welsh out in front. Once more France came back through Tommy Raynaud’s try to cut the deficit to 15-12 at half-time. That grew to six points with another O’Brien penalty before Singer’s try.

France captain Francois Cros said: “It was a very difficult match. Now we have won one each – we have revenge, we are very happy to have won against them. They are a very good team and it’s great for us to play the next match on Eden Park.”

Scorers:

Wales U20:

• Tries: Jack Dixon (1), Tyler Morgan (1)
  
• Con: Angus O’Brien (1)
  
• Pens: Angus O’Brien (2)

France U20:

• Tries: Jean Thomas (1), Tommy Raynaud (1), Jean Baptiste Singer (1)
  
• Cons: Baptiste Serin (2)

Teams:

Wales U20: 15 Dafydd Howells, 14 Tyler Morgan, 13 Steffan Hughes (Captain), 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Ashley Evans, 10 Angus O’Brien, 9 Tom Williams, 8 James Benjamin, 7 Scott Matthews, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Scott Andrews, 3 Nicky Thomas, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Luke Garrett, 18 Ben Leung, 19 Ben Roach, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Luc Jones, 22 Ethan Davies, 23 Harri Evans.

France U20: 15 Pierre Justes, 14 Kylan Hamdaoui, 13 Xavier Mignot, 12 Ivan Roux, 11 Arthur Bonneval, 10 Brandon Fajardo, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Francois Cros (Captain), 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Jean Thomas, 5 Felix Lambey, 4 Arthur Iturria, 3 Tommy Raynaud, 2 Romain Ruffenach, 1 Youssef Amrouni
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Oleg Ishchenko, 18 Simon Courcoul, 19 Jean Baptiste Singer, 20 Jean-Blaise Lespinasse, 21 Thibault Daubagna, 22 Francois Bouvier, 23 Lucas Blanc.

Referee: Matt O’Brien (Australia)