The World Rugby U20 Championship opening round began with a bang. The second pool games once again didn’t fail to disappoint. There were some thrilling contests, most notably Argentina’s match-up with with France.
Here’s a round up of all the fixtures from round two:
Pool A
Australia 33 Samoa 26
Australia had to work hard to earn a 33-26 victory over Samoa. Australia’s Sevens superstar Henry Hutchinson scored in the opening minutes. Samoa scored two of their own to take a narrow lead at the break.
#AussieU20s coach Cron keen to tackle England after tight Samoa win. #WorldRugbyU20s https://t.co/9RVMXwlxQw
— RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) June 4, 2017
But Australia began to open up the Samoan defense in the final quarter. A try from Liam McNamara extended the lead and a couple of late Ricky Pauli Ene penalties weren’t enough to see Samoa over the line.
England 34 Wales 22
England recorded their second win of the campaign, a 34-22 victory over Wales. The reigning champions raced out of the blocks, scoring two tries in the opening 14 minutes. Despite a late resurgence from Wales and an Ollie Dawe yellow card, an Ibitoye double put England in the driving seat.
England’s discipline will need to be much improved ahead of the final pool tie against Australia on Thursday.
Pool B
Ireland 28 Scotland 32
Ireland face the prospect of finishing outside the top ten after a narrow 28-32 loss to Scotland. An early Jack Stafford try for Ireland looked positive for the men in green. But five tries for Scotland were enough to take the victory. Fly-half Connor Eastgate scoring twelve points including a try out wide mid way through the second half.
Ireland will face the prospect of a strong New Zealand side in the final game of the pool stages.
New Zealand 68 Italy 26
The flood gates opened for New Zealand against Italy in a commanding 68-26 win. Twelve tries from the Baby Blacks made it two from two, after racing to a 39-21 half time lead. Winger Caleb Clarke, who was pick of the scorers, crossed twice as he begins to make his mark on the competition.
Big tackle from @federugby ➕ Incredible individual try from @allblacks U20s = Awesome rugby at the #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/aYWF8UaAKO
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 4, 2017
Italy might have opened the scoring early on, but couldn’t control the attacking strength that New Zealand had to offer.
Pool C
Argentina 25 France 26
A try for France in the last play of the game sealed what was a thrilling encounter. Beato Mauvaka crossed in the corner to snatch a 26-25 victory. The lead changed hands on a number of occasions and Argentina looked likely to win with five minutes to go. A Tomas Albornoz drop goal from 47 meters out extended the Argentinian lead to four points.
Despite a double from fly-half Juan Bautista Daireaux, Argentina will go into a must-win round three tie against South Africa.
South Africa 38 Georgia 14
South Africa weathered an early Georgia storm by seeing off a plucky Junior Lelos side 38-14. The Georgians started the game well despite going a score down early on. With a packed crowd behind them, they mustered two tries of their own.
⚠️ Warning: Freakish Speed ⚠️@JuniorBoks combine unreal hands with electrifying pace to score superb try #WorldRugbyU20s pic.twitter.com/f7wBBRz8D0
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) June 4, 2017
However, the Junior Boks’ Wandisile Simelane scored arguably the best try of the competition so far. Deep in their own half, the attack surged forward at pace with the outside centre finishing what was an incredible team try.
The game was marred, in the final stages, by South Africa’s Zain Davids being shown a red card for a deliberate head butt on Tornike Jagalonia.
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The third, and final round of the 2017 World Rugby U20 Championship is played on June 8. Follow all the results here on Last Word on Rugby, with reports by Aaron Tillyer.
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