All teams have played one round of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship being held in Manchester, with the Scottish side upturning Australia, that result see’s the Pool leaders all achieving their objectives. Only Wales appeared to under perform in a tight loss to the Irish but with the Second Round matches just around the corner, Last Word On Sports details the tournament results so far and Saturday’s draw.
Under-20 Championship First Round Results
POOL A – Wales 25 Ireland 26 | New Zealand 55 Georgia 0
POOL B – Australia 10 Scotland 15 | England 48 Italy 10
POOL C – France 15 Argentina 24 | South Africa 59 Japan 19
TOP 5 TRIES! These sizzling scores were the highlights of match day one,but which is your favourite? #WorldRugbyU20shttps://t.co/jibuhfX2ep
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 8, 2016
The most impressive results were as predicted: South Africa scoring big, even though Japan did a commendable job in leading the game, with the memories of the 2015 Rugby World Cup ringing in their ears. That being said, the African side are looking mean. They made the comeback, winning comfortably in the end. On the other side of the draw, Argentina did a great job dealing with the unpredictable French. The two emotional sides were well matched, but the South American team has benefited from more exposure to Intra-continental games and they looked the more composed.
As mentioned, Australia will be bitterly disappointed at their lack of fighting spirit in losing to Scotland. The two tries to one victory is just the boost the Scot’s would have dreamed of–fans hope they can travel well and be prepared for the cross-border fight coming up against England.
That side were unchallenged by Italy. The Azzuri have heart but need to learn to put it into practice and they allowed the hosts to score six tries, including a Penalty Try that illustrated poor discipline. The big Englishmen are now looking to take maximum points against Scotland in the clash that will settle top qualifier.
New Zealand had the better of Georgia and even with a claim of ‘biting’ it was the Kiwi team that bared their teeth and ran away with the result. Georgia could not trouble the scoreboard but will look to improve on Saturday. They play Wales, who will be out to make amends for the close-fought loss to Ireland. Wales will also be without Adam Beard for the rest of the tournament, as he has been cited for an act of foul play and was subsequently suspended by the World Rugby Judicial Officer for nine weeks
The celtic fightback is proof that every match is 80 minutes–all players must respect the clock, understand the referees instructions and use this experience to improve over the entire tournament.
The matches have been played at two fantastic grounds in the North of England. The AJ Bell Stadium (pictured) is a beautiful ground where the Sale Sharks play, and is in tip-top condition for this tournament. The other host facility being the Manchester City Academy Stadium, a football ground that is performing wonderfully and both stadiums are great arenas for these under-20 stars to perform on.
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From this opening round, teams have now all been well rested and will now hope to display their strengths and abilty to maintain standards. The Baby Boks are sharp and will take some beating. If any team can look to undermine that confidence, it may be the Pumas, as their senior team did beat the South Africans in the 2015 Rugby Championship. Inspirational and for them, a chance to be the leaders rather than followers in World Rugby, if they win this second round match.
The Irish will hold their heads high and with good crowd support, must aim for the big upset against the Baby Blacks. and with a good gameplan ‘anything is possible’. If the Kiwi’s rack-up another big score, then the competition will need to respect their individual and collective skillsbase.
France and Australia must make a strong demonstration of their ability. if France are to be taken seriously, a commanding performance is desirable–if they stumble or look timid, it will be like ‘blood in the water’ for the Australians. Some great matches and these young men will each need to be at their peak for the second of three matches before qualifying places are assured.
Second Round Matches – Saturday June 11
POOL A – New Zealand v Ireland, Manchester City Academy Stadium (Game 1) | Wales v Georgia (Game 2)
POOL B – Australia v Italy, AJ Bell Stadium, Salford (Game 1) | France v Japan (Game 2)
POOL C – England v Scotland, Manchester City (Game 3) | South Africa v Argentina AJ Bell Stadium (Game 3)
Saturday will be a massive weekend for rugby fans in Manchester, but worldwide. With not only the Under-20 Championship, following those games are full International test matches between New Zealand and Wales in Auckland, Australia v England from Brisbane, South Africa v Ireland in Cape Town and Argentina host Italy in Santa Fe.
Some scintillating rugby from both the young, Under-20 players as well as their representative senior teams. How much each team takes motivation from the others performances will be an example of how ‘rugbyunited’ the game is today. It is in a great position, with a huge Saturday of second round matches to reinforce that sense that World Rugby has a great product.
This weekend, the Under-20 Championship will go a long way to being a shining example of the popularity of the modern game. All the best to every side.
“Main photo credit”
