The cliché goes that you are only as good as your last game, but England well and truly blew that away with a resounding performance against South Africa. A dominant English pack secured victory in the semi-final of the World Rugby Under 20’s Championships against last year’s beaten finalists. A 28-20 score line ultimately flattered the South Africans a little as they came back into the game with some excellent running rugby in the final 10 minutes of the game.
South Africa may well point to the refereeing inconsistencies in a first half that saw two Junior Bok players receive yellow cards for high tackles. England had failed to capitalise on the sin binning of the Boks captain, Hanro Liebenberg, but the second card of the game allowed England to transfer dominance into points. Persistent penalties conceded by England, however, failed to see the referee brandish a yellow card until the closing stages. Repeated offences in defence should have seen this come far earlier which may have given South Africa the chance to get themselves back in the game.
The English coaching staff will not have been pleased with the way in which South Africa were able to gain a foothold in the game in the latter stages and will be looking for further improvements for the final. England will face the All Blacks in the final on Saturday 20th June at 19.30 (BST) after they overcame France in the days other semi-final. A six try romp from New Zealand with a hat trick for Tevita Li led to a 45-7 final score line. Led superbly on the front foot by Otere Black, the Hurricanes man, New Zealand looked deadly with ball in hand. The performance of the All Blacks will surely have caused a stir in the English camp although as reigning champions they will head into the final with some confidence with New Zealand looking for a first victory since 2011. It was England who they faced that day with Italy also the host nation, will history repeat itself?
England vs New Zealand will be the final act of what is shaping up to be a fascinating day of rugby as the remaining sides battle for rankings in the World Rugby Under 20’s Championship. The losing semi-finalists, South Africa and France will face off in the 3rd place playoff (17.30 BST) hoping to salvage some pride after their defeats. The rest of the sides will match up throughout the day:
Argentina vs Japan (10.00 BST)
Ireland vs Scotland (12.00 BST)
Wales vs Australia (14.00 BST)
Italy vs Samoa (15.30 BST)
What has been a thrilling championship will draw to a close this Saturday within 100 days of its big brother, the Rugby World Cup. It may well be too soon for any of these players to force their way into reckoning for the senior squads but as seen with Maro Itoje last year’s winning English captain it is possible to make the transition. As a part of the Elite senior squad he will hope to grace the fields of England 2015 and it may well be in the back of the minds of all the under 20’s players as they match up this weekend. Only time will tell but make sure you tune in to your local broadcasters to catch the future of your national side.
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