All the reports from Round One of the World Rugby U20 Championship in Manchester on Tuesday.
Martin Haag’s England U20s side eased to a 48-10 win over Italy in Manchester on Tuesday evening and opened their Junior World Championship with a decent victory.
England were made to work hard in the first 40 minutes and went into the break leading 17-3, courtesy of two tries from George Nott and Sam Aspland-Robinson.
Captaining the side from inside centre, Harry Mallinder played a major role in his side’s resurgence in the second half as they began to add up the tries.
Mallinder added three conversions plus two penalties and his centre partner Joe Marchant was the next to cross as Italy wilted upfront.
Jack Singleton’s drive over from a rolling maul and Zach Mercer’s short-range power rounded off in the end a comprehensive win for England, although their lineout will need some work before facing Scotland this Saturday.
Martin Haag’s England U20s side eased to a 48-10 win over Italy in Manchester on Tuesday evening and opened their Junior World Championship with a decent victory.
England were made to work hard in the first 40 minutes and went into the break leading 17-3, courtesy of two tries from George Nott and Sam Aspland-Robinson.
Captaining the side from inside centre, Harry Mallinder played a major role in his side’s resurgence in the second half as they began to add up the tries.
Mallinder added three conversions plus two penalties and his centre partner Joe Marchant was the next to cross as Italy wilted upfront.
Jack Singleton’s drive over from a rolling maul and Zach Mercer’s short-range power rounded off in the end a comprehensive win for England, although their lineout will need some work before facing Scotland this Saturday.
Wales enjoyed an excellent start to the game as openside flanker Shaun Evans, wing Kellan Giles and scrum-half Reuben Morgan-Williams went over the whitewash to hand them a 0-17 lead with just 20 minutes played.
Fortunately for Ireland a Bill Johnston drop-goal, hooker Adam McBurney’s try and full-back Jacob Stockdale’s crossing in the last play of the opening period made it a 15-17 ball game at the interval in Manchester.
Crucially Wales struck first after the break with a Daniel Jones penalty but Ireland responded through the boot of Johnston for 18-20.
But then Ireland took the upper hand with another Johnston penalty on 51 minutes preceding a Stockdale try as they took a 26-20 lead.
Wales came close to winning when Giles claimed his brace wide out but Jarrod Evans was wide with the tough effort as Ireland held on.
There was no score in Salford in the opening 20 minutes of their opening pool match, as both teams struggled to get their game-plan going.
Adam Hastings broke the deadlock for Scotland with a penalty but their lead was short-lived as lock Izack Rodda went over to make it 3-7.
Following the turnaround though a pivotal moment occurred in the 44th minute as Australia’s outside centre Campbell Magnay was handed his marching orders following a second yellow card, thus offering Scotland a leg-up with plenty of time remaining in a finely poised fixture.
Scotland didn’t need long to strike as tighthead Zander Fagerson pushed his side 8-7 in front before Australia’s Mack Mason made it 8-10.
But eventually the numerical advantage saw Scotland come out on top as wing Darcy Graham crossed in the 64th minute for a 15-10 scoreline.
An amazing first half treble from powerhouse winger Ataata Moeakiola gave the Boks a bad case of Da Ja Vu and the Cherry and Whites a surprising 19-14 lead at the break.
The Junior Boks’ had started well when Zain Davids crossed in the opening 10 minutes, but they found themselves 12 points adrift heading into the break following Moeakiola’s treble. JT Jackson though struck back for South Africa on the stroke of half-time to reduce the deficit to just five points.
And the Boks started the second half with the same conviction, scoring three tries in the first eight minutes of the second half to recapture their lead and move clear. Captain Jeremy Ward’s pair of scores sandwiched Davids second try as South Africa opened up a convincing lead, 38-19.
Further tries from Manie Libbok, Mosolwa Mafuma and Carlu Sadie against a tiring Japanese defence made the victory extra secure and took their try total for the day to eight while Curwin Bosch was perfect from the tee as he kicked nine from nine
Argentina kicked off the U20 World Championship with a hard-fought 24-15 victory over France at the AJ Bell Stadium in Salford on Tuesday.
Trailing 6-8 at half-time thanks to a try from scrum-half Antoine Dupont and a Anthony Belleau penalty, France held the slight upper hand.
Argentina’s response came via two Domingo Miotti penalties and that was how things stayed until the 51st minute in a tight opening clash.
But then a penalty try pushed France 6-15 up before Martín Elías cut the gap to three points with two penalties with 16 minutes remaining.
The Pumas though kicked on in the closing stages with converted tries from Lautaro Bazán and Bautista Stávile sealing their come-from-behind win.