Under-20 Rugby Championships: New Zealand, South Africa can’t be split as Argentina score historic win over Australia
The under-20 Rugby Championship has started with a bang with touring international teams standing tall in horror weather conditions. See which players were the standouts as well as the complete match recaps.
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The inaugural Under-20 Rugby Championship kicked off on the Sunshine Coast on Thursday night with all four sides battling horror rain and wind conditions.
Points were split in the opening contest between New Zealand and South Africa before Argentina proved too strong against host nation Australia.
See below for the full match recaps and standout players.
POINTS SHARED IN COMPETITION OPENER
Wet, windy and sloppy conditions proved tough to overcome for both sides and despite some open play in the final stages it wasn’t enough to split New Zealand and South Africa with a 13-all draw in the opening match of the U20 Rugby Championship.
The first 20 minutes were slow, congested and somewhat sloppy in the poor weather conditions as neither side put together any real phase play.
South Africa’s Michail Damon was the first to throw an opening jab after some slick footwork and ball movement created space and an opportunity for his right side attack.
With the slippery ball getting the best of the Springboks once again New Zealand were the first of the two sides to crack into the opposition’s 22.
New Zealand fullback Isaac Hutchinson slotted a penalty kick to go up 3-0 but his side failed to capitalise in the final minutes of the first half despite having solid field position.
Hutchinson’s second penalty kick attempt drifted wide on the stroke of halftime but his side were able to get over the white line first thanks to a nice cut out ball from Rico Simpson which hit Stanley Solomon on the paint for the first try of the match.
The Springboks closed the gap with a successful penalty kick of their own in the 58th minute and in the blink of an eye the men in green took the lead after a mistake at the back from New Zealand.
South Africa kicked away again thanks to a penalty scrum win as Tylor Sefoor kicked his second penalty conversion of the second half.
For the first time since the early stages of the second half New Zealand found themselves back into the South African red zone thanks to a nice run from Stanley Solomon.
New Zealand continued to hammer the South African try line in the final minutes before Frank Vaenuku crossed to Level the game at 13-13 with less than one minute remaining.
With the game in the balance Rico Simpson shaved the left upright as the match finished all square.
South African outside centre Jurenzo Julius said his side would take plenty of positives from the match.
“In the first half New Zealand tried to play a tight game but I feel we met them there and also showed some flair rugby.
“We contained them pretty well, stuck to our structure but overall a tough game.
“The draw is a disappointing feeling, we wanted to come here and get a win to set the standard but things happen.”
Star New Zealand fullback Isaac Hutchinson said he was pleased with his side’s performance.
“I’m pretty stoked with the boys’ efforts, the way we moved with that weather was pretty impressive so a draw is a fair result,” he said.
“It’s a dream come true to rep the All Blacks jersey especially against a really strong side like that.
“Staying healthy is the main focus now I think, we’ve got a short five day turnaround so making sure everyone is right to go.”
Standout Players
Isaac Hutchinson (New Zealand): The Kiwi fullback, who is aligned with the Crusaders in Super Rugby, ensured his player stocks continued to rise with some hard running and creative ball play. Hutchinson is a big bodied number 15 and wouldn’t look out of place in any backline position.
Stanley Solomon (New Zealand): Did his job for his side and stepped up when called upon all game. Solomon played a nice sweeping, fill-in role for his teammates and scored a good try in the second half thanks to a nice looping cut all ball from Rico Simpson.
Bathobele Hlekani (South Africa): Provided good running lines and support but did his best work at the breakdown winning a number of turnovers.
Michail Damon (South Africa): Was a constant threat all game popping up in good positions on either side of the ball. In trying conditions Damon also stood tall in defence, kicking well and organising his front men nicely.
Thomas Dyer (South Africa): Plain and simple, is a half-back’s worst nightmare. Dyer hounded the New Zealand backs and quickly shut down any real momentum all match.
Tylor Sefoor (South Africa): It took him a while to get going but Sefoor really found his groove in the final 20 minutes. The South African number 10 kicked really well with the wind and was well suited in organising his backline.
PUMITA’S DOMINATE AUSTRALIAN FORWARD PACK TO SCORE HISTORIC VICTORY
The rain returned upon kick-off between Australia and Argentina and as players, fans and coaches learnt in the earlier 13-all draw, points would be hard to come by.
Both sides were sloppy at the breakdown and in their early penalty count which saw both teams draw level at 3-3 after 10 minutes.
The home side were pinned on their own line for some time as Argentina dominated the scrum and ruck contest.
Two missed penalty goal attempts from Argentina’s Santino Di Lucca gave the Australians some breathing room before Jack Harley was sent to the sin bin for repeated team infringements.
The Pumitas made the most of their advantage, crossing through tighthead prop Tomas Rapetti in the 39th minute with Di Lucca’s conversion putting Argentina 10-3 ahead at half time.
That trend continued after the break with number eight Juan Pedro Bernasconi extending his side’s lead thanks to a strong rolling maul.
Di Lucca slotted his second penalty goal in the 45th minute, pushing the scores out to 18-3 before Faustino Sanchez Valarolo was yellow carded for a high shot.
Australian flyhalf Joey Fowler kicked his second penalty goal in the 58th minute before the Pumitas sealed the match 25-6 with a late try.
Brute Argentinian forward Juan Pedro Bernasconi said he was proud to get the win.
“We knew the rain and the weather was going to come but we are glad we could take the match a part,” he said.
“We don’t care about the rain, we knew that our forward pack was going to be great so we put trust in each other and proud with that performance.”
Australia prop Jack Barrett said the side would “regroup” ahead of Tuesday’s crunch match with South Africa.
“It was a very forward dominated game and they (Argentina) were up for it,” Barrett said.
“It’s still a step in the right direction. We’re not quite where we want to be but it’s a good learning experience. We’ll review this game, look at the things we really need to work on and get back out there.”
Standout Players
Tomas Di Biase (Argentina): Controlled the speed of the game really well by getting his forwards in order but also looking wide when the opportunity presented itself.
Juan Pedro Bernasconi (Argentina): Scored a key try to extend the lead but the big, rangy number eight was everywhere for his side all game. Looks to be a real standout moving forward.
Jack Barrett (Australia): Was a workhorse all game before being substituted in the second half after putting in a shift in tough conditions. Barrett stood up against the bigger Argentinian forward pack well and should take plenty of confidence from his opening performance.
Jarrah McLeod (Australia): Didn’t see a heap of the ball in open space but when he did McLeod looked strong and was creating dents in the oppositions defensive line.
The next round of matches will take place on Tuesday, May 7 with New Zealand taking on Argentina while Australia would look to improve against South Africa.
Originally published as Under-20 Rugby Championships: New Zealand, South Africa can’t be split as Argentina score historic win over Australia
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