World Rugby U20 Championship Final: England to meet New Zealand in final

England and New Zealand will meet in the World Rugby U20 Championship Final for the second time in three years on Sunday after Tuesday’s semi-finals.

 

Results

Ireland 52-26 Samoa
Georgia 26-25 Argentina
Australia 42-19 Italy
England 24-22 South Africa
Scotland 29-25 Wales
New Zealand 39-26 France

Final

England v New Zealand

Third Place Playoff

South Africa v France

5th Place Playoff

Australia v Scotland

7th Place Playoff

Wales v Italy

9th Place Playoff

Ireland v Georgia

11th Place Playoff

Samoa v Argentina

Ireland 52-26 Samoa

Ireland overwhelmed Samoa 52-26 at Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia in their ninth place semi-final in the U20 World Rugby Championship.

Tries from Peter Cooper, Fineen Wycherley, Oisin Dowling, Calvin Nash, Ciaran Frawley, Caelan Doris and a brace from Ronan Kelleher proved too much for Samoa who scored through Theodore Solipo, Seta Enoka, Pupi Ah See and Afioga Ielemia.

Ireland led 26-5 at the break thanks to scores from Kelleher, Cooper, Wycherley and Dowling, with Conor Dean adding three conversions.

Samoa would improve after the break but Ireland were never really in trouble of losing the game as they added another four tries in the second-half.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries: Kelleher 2, Cooper, Wycherley, Dowling, Nash, Doris, Frawley
Cons: Dean 6
Yellow Card: Dowling

For Samoa:
Tries: Solipo, Enoka, Ah See, Ielemia
Cons: Ene 3
Yellow Card: Tagoai, Tele’a

Ireland: 15 Alan Tynan, 14 Michael Silvester, 13 Gavin Mullin, 12 Ciaran Frawley, 11 Calvin Nash, 10 Conor Dean, 9 Jack Stafford, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Paul Boyle, 6 Gavin Coombes, 5 Oisin Dowling, 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 Peter Cooper, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Jordan Duggan
Replacements: 16 Adam Moloney, 17 Joey Conway, 18 Charlie Connolly, 19 Jack Regan, 20 John Foley, 21 Jonny Stewart, 22 David McCarthy, 23 Mark Keane

Samoa: 15 Ricky Ene, 14 Darren Moore, 13 Taniele Tele’a, 12 Kerrod Foaese, 11 Alexander Pohla, 10 Tagaloa Fonoti, 9 Howard Tagoai, 8 Sione Tuipolotu, 7 Caleb Faalili, 6 Francis Ah Him, 5 Julias Togafau, 4 Theodore Solipo, 3 Afioga Ielemia, 2 Noel Sanft, 1 Seta Enoka
Replacements: 16 Petelo Ikenasio, 17 Suetene Asomua, 18 Frank Tupuola, 19 Shammah-Anthony Leonard Solomona, 20 Peato Toeafe, 21 Wyatt-Misitaga Uauta-Setu, 22 Pupi Ah See, 23 Godinot Tinei

Referee: Tom Foley (England)
Assistant Referees: Pali De Luca (Argentina), Tasuku Kawahara (Japan)
TMO: Charles Samson (South Africa)

Argentina 25-26 Georgia

Georgia picked up their first win of the 2017 U20 World Rugby Championship as they beat Argentina 26-25 in their ninth-place semi-final.

Tries from lock Beka Saghinadze and openside flanker Ilia Spanderashvili saw them prevail as they held off a late push from Argentina.

Georgia led 23-11 at the break with Bautista Delguy crossing for Argentina and after the interval Facundo Ferrario and Tomás Malanos cut the gap to just a point, but Georgia held on to set up a clash with Ireland on Sunday.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries: Delguy, Ferrario, Malanos
Cons: Daireaux 2
Pens: Albornoz 2
Yellow Card: Luna

For Georgia:
Tries: Saghinadze, Spanderashvili
Cons: Aprasidze 2
Pens: Aprasidze 4
Yellow Card: Tabidze

Argentina: 15 Bautista Delguy, 14 Tomás Malanos (c), 13 Facundo Ferrario, 12 Teo Castiglioni, 11 Luciano Gonzalez-Rizzoni, 10 Tomás Albornoz, 9 Matías Sauze, 8 Juan Molina, 7 Santiago Ruiz, 6 Agustin Medrano, 5 Nahul Milan, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Mayco Geronimo Vivas, 2 José Luis Gonzales, 1 Santiago Pullella
Replacements: 16 Leonel Oviedo, 17 Rodrigo Martínez, 18 Alejandro Luna, 19 Lucas Paulos, 20 Nicolás Walker, 21 Gonzalo García, 22 Juan Bautista Daireaux, 23 Santiago Carreras

Georgia: 15 Miriani Modebadze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Bezhani Gavashelishvili, 12 Giorgi Kveseladze, 11 Davit Meskhi, 10 Gela Abzhandadze, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Arseni Machaladze, 7 Ilia Spanderashvili, 6 Tornike Jalagonia (c), 5 Koba Jimsheleishvili, 4 Beka Saghinadze, 3 Lasha Tabidze, 2 Levan Papidze, 1 Guram Gogichashvili
Replacements: 16 Levan Tchavtchavadze, 17 Ushangi Tcheishvili, 18 Levan Papidze, 19 Lashia Jaiani, 20 Aleksandre Kalmakhelidze, 21 Luka Dvalishvili, 22 Giorgi Tsiklauri, 23 Beka Mamukashvili

Referee: Jaco van Heerden (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

Australia 42-19 Italy

Australia ran out comfortable winners over Italy as a strong second-half showing saw them prevail 42-19 at Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi.

A hat-trick from Izaia Perese and further crossings from Harrison Goddard, Sione Tuipulotu and Reece Hewat saw Australia to victory.

Italy were only 12-14 down at the break but were well beaten in the end as Roberto Dal Zilio (2) and Giovanni D’Onofrio got their scores.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries: Perese 3, Goddard, Tuipulotu, Hewat
Cons: Goddard 5, Nucifora

For Italy:
Tries: Dal Zilio (2), D’Onofrio
Cons: Rizzi 2

Australia: 15 Liam McNamara, 14 Henry Hutchison, 13 Izaia Perese, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Simon Kennewell, 10 Hamish Stewart, 9 Harrison Goddard, 8 Reece Hewat (c), 7 Liam Wright, 6 Angus Scott-Young, 5 Harry Hockings, 4 Ryan McCauley, 3 Shambeckler Vui, 2 Jordan Uelese, 1 Cody Walker
Replacements: 16 Efi Maafu, 17 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 18 Gavin Luka, 19 Lachlan Swinton, 20 Rob Valetini, 21 Harry Nucifora, 22 Nick Jooste, 23 Semisi Tupou

Italy: 15 Roberto Dal Zilio, 14 Pietro Fontana, 13 Andrea de Masi, 12 Alessandro Forcucci, 11 Andrea Bronzini, 10 Filippo Di Marco, 9 Matteo Maria Panunzi, 8 Lodovico Manni, 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Jacopo Bianchi, 5 Edoardo Iachizzi, 4 Daniel Orso, 3 Marco Riccioni (c), 2 Alberto Rollero, 1 Daniele Rimpelli
Replacements: 16 Matteo Luccardi, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Dante Gavrilita, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Lorenzo Masselli, 21 Antonio Rizzi, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Giovanni D’Onofrio

Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand), Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)

Scotland 29-25 Wales

Scotland came from behind in the closing stages to pip Wales to a place in the 5th Place final, thanks to two tries from Darcy Graham.

Wales struck first thanks to a try from flanker Will Jones but Scotland’s response was swift, Graham and Ross McCann both crossing to make it 14-5 thanks to Connor Eastgate’s conversions.

The first half scoring wasn’t over, Wales hitting back through Ioan Nicholas. But Scotland captain Callum Hunter-Hill ensured that his side held a 19-12 lead going into the break.

After the interval both sides showed their nerves, with Arwel Robson and Eastgate exchanging penalties. And it was thanks to the fly-half that Wales took a decisive lead, his second penalty and then a converted try putting Wales ahead 25-22.

Just as the game looked to be slipping away from Scotland their winger Graham pounced for his second try, converted by Eastgate, to put Scotland back ahead, booking their spot in the 5th Place final.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries: Graham 2, McCann, Hunter-Hill
Cons: Eastgate 3
Pen: Eastgate

For Wales:
Tries: W Jones, Nicholas, Robson
Cons: Robson 2
Pens: Robson 2

Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Robbie Nairn, 13 Ross McCann, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Darcy Graham, 10 Connor Eastgate, 9 Andrew Simmers, 8 Tom Dodd, 7 Matt Fagerson, 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Callum Hunter-Hill (c), 4 Alex Craig, 3 Adam Nicol, 2 Fraser Renwick, 1 George Thornton
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Fergus Bradbury, 18 Daniel Winning, 19 Hamish Bain, 20 Archie Erskine, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Josh Henderson, 23 Lewis Berg

Wales: 15 Will Talbot-Davies, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Ioan Nicholas, 12 Owen Lane, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Arwel Robson, 9 Dane Blacker, 8 Aled Ward, 7 Will Jones, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Sean Moore, 4 Will Griffiths, 3 Kieron Assiratti, 2 Ellis Shipp, 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Owen Hughes, 17 Tom Mably, 18 Steff Thomas, 19 Callum Bradbury, 20 Syd Blackmore, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Connor Edwards, 23 Phil Jones

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referees: Pali De Luca (Argentina), Tasuku Kawahara (Japan)
TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)

England 24-22 South Africa

England narrowly edged out South Africa with a hard-fought 24-22 victory in a World Rugby U20 Championship semi-final in Tbilisi on Tuesday.

A try from Alex Mitchell and a Zach Mercer brace proved too much for South Africa who scored through Ruben Van Heerden and a Juarno Augustus brace.

It was a tightly-contested affair with rugby right out of the top drawer and worthy of a semi-final.

In an exciting opening ten minutes, the sides exchanged converted tries. England clawed ahead however in the 15th minute through a good piece of work from scrum-half Mitchell.

But South Africa scored on the stroke of half-time to ensure they went in to the break only five points behind at 17-12.

The second half saw South Africa take the lead for the first time in the match when Van Heerden bashed over from close range. Bosch converted to put the  Junior Boks 19-17 in front.

Bosch extended the lead with a penalty to 22-17 but with five minutes to go England skipper Mercer grabbed his brace to break South African hearts.

England have made their fifth final in a row and should they go all the way it will be a fourth trophy in five years.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries: Mercer 2, Mitchell
Cons: Malins 3
Pen: Malins

For South Africa:
Tries: Augustus 2, Van Heerden
Cons: Bosch 2
Pen: Bosch

England: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Darren Atkins, 13 Will Butler, 12 Theo Brophy Clews, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 Max Malins, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Dino Lamb, 5 Justin Clegg, 4 Josh Caulfield, 3 Marcus Street, 2 Joe Mullis, 1 Ralph Adams-Hale
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Ollie Dawe, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Max Davies, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Jacob Umaga, 23 Paolo Odogwu

South Africa: 15 Manie Libbok, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Gianni Lombard, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 6 Len Massyn, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Kwenzo Blose
Replacements: 16 Gerhard Steenekamp, 17 Daniel Jooste, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Muller Uys, 21 Francois de Villiers, 22 Stedman Gans, 23 Jean-Luc Cilliers

Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Andrea Piardi (Italy), Shota Tevzadze (Georgia)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

New Zealand 39-26 France

New Zealand booked their place in the World Rugby U20 Championship Final after a superb first half set them up for a big win over France.

The first 46 minutes were all New Zealand, as the Baby Blacks opened up a commanding 36-0 lead from where the contest always looked over.

Tiaan Falcon opened the scoring as early as the second minute with a penalty, before tries from Will Jordan and Falcon stretched the lead out to 15-0. France’s cause was not helped by losing Baptiste Pesenti-Compagnoni to the sin bin.

Dalton Papalii and Caleb Clarke added to the rout to give New Zealand a dominant 22-0 lead at half-time. And it was more of the same at the start of the second half when Asafo Aumua added try number five for the home side, with France yet to fire.

Finally after a number of replacements France got into the game, scoring through Baptiste Couilloud and then Pesenti-Compagnoni to make the score 36-14.

Alex Arrate and Lucas Tauzin added further respectability to the scoreline with late tries, but it was not enough to stop New Zealand’s return to the final.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries: Jordan, Falcon, Papalii, Clarke, Aumua
Cons: Falcon 4
Pens: Falcon 2

For France:
Tries: Couilloud, Pesenti-Compagnoni, Arrate, Tauzin
Cons: Arrate 3
Yellow Card: Pesenti-Compagnoni

New Zealand: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Tima Fainga’anuku, 13 Braydon Ennor, 12 Orbyn Leger, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Tiaan Falcon, 9 Ereatara Enari, 8 Marino Mikaele-Tuu, 7 Dalton Papalii, 6 Luke Jacobson (c), 5 Sam Slade, 4 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 3 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth
Replacements: 16 JP Sauni, 17 Harrison Allan, 18 Alex Fidow, 19 Sam Caird, 20 Tom Christie, 21 Kemara Hauiti-Parapara, 22 Tamati Tua, 23 Josh McKay

France: 15 Geoffrey Cros, 14 Lucas Tauzin, 13 Pablo Uberti, 12 Alex Arrate, 11 Arthur Joel Retiere, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Baptiste Couilloud, 8 Alexandre Roumat, 7 Baptiste Pesenti-Compagnoni, 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Mickaël Capelli, 4 Florian Verhaeghe (c), 3 Zakaria El Fakir, 2 Florian Dufour, 1 Hassane Kolingar
Replacements: 16 Ugo Boniface, 17 Peato Mauvaka, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe Reazel, 19 Killian Geraci, 20 Selevasio Tolofua, 21 Arthur Coville, 22 Theo Millet, 23 Romain Buros

Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Charles Samson (Scotland)

 

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