Junior Springboks down 14-man England U20 to set up France final
· Citizen
The Junior Springboks produced a sizzling second half performance to bounce back from a halftime deficit and power to a 53-37 win over 14-man England U20 in their U20 Junior World Championship semifinal at the Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi on Monday night.
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Both teams had players sent off, England flank Seb Kelly permanently for a deliberate headbutt in the first half, which proved massively costly, as it allowed the Junior Boks to take a monster lead, before fullback Luan Giliomee received a 20-minute red for a poor aerial challenge with 17 minutes left.
The win sends the Junior Boks into the final at the same ground on Saturday, where they will face France U20, who earlier downed New Zealand U20 26-22 in an entertaining semifinal.
After waiting 13 years to win their second Junior World title, after triumphing on home soil back in 2012, the Junior Boks now have a chance of going back-to-back in Georgia after winning in Italy last year.
England’s first half
The first half belonged to England, as they started well, and punished the early Junior Bok infractions, as they conceded a penalty and a free kick, with England then taking a quick tap in the 22m and prop Ollie Streeter smashed over for the converted score in the fourth minute.
The Junior Boks initially responded well, as they enjoyed a good spell of possession, getting into the England 22m and attacked off a lineout, where inside centre Ethan Adams made a good carry, before flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed got the ball at pace and carried two players over the line for the converted score.
But England retook the lead with an 18th minute penalty to flyhalf Hugh Shields, who then turned try scorer in the 29th minute after tucking his head and diving over from close range to put them 17-7 up.
The match then turned on its head in the 33rd when Kelly drove his head into Giliomee on the floor, which allowed the Junior Boks to immediately kick to the corner, attack off the lineout, and Ahmed sent a cross kick to Khuthadzo Rasivhaga to go over in the corner.
But a late penalty for England, converted by Shields, pushed them into an eight-point lead at the halftime break.
Junior Boks firing
The Junior Boks came firing out of the blocks in the second half and powered their way to a big lead by the time they were reduced to 14.
First Giliomee was incredibly involved, stepping and breaking to put Rasivagha away for his second in the 43rd minute, and five minutes later he assisted Kebotile Maake, producing a great offload to put the flank away down the line, with him running over a defender and scoring.
Maake was then in for a quickfire double in the 50th minute, finishing off a move after Ahmed made a stunning break from his own half, with the extras putting them into a 33-20 lead.
Three minutes later Rasivagha was into the corner for his hattrick, but England immediately hit back with replacement scrumhalf Jonny Weimann going over, making it 40-25 after 55 minutes.
In the 58th minute Luke Cannon crashed over from close range, and a 61st minute penalty to Ahmed put them into a 25-point lead, before Gilimoee was given a yellow, which was upgraded to red, for his poor aerial battle that saw an England player land dangerously.
With the numbers back even, it allowed England to finish strong, as flank Tate Williams went over in the 64th minute, and Shields scored his second in the 78th, either side a 68th minute penalty from Ahmed.
Scorers
Junior Springboks: Tries – Yaqeen Ahmed, Khuthadzo Rasivhaga (3), Kebotile Maake (2), Luke Cannon; Conversions – Ahmed (6); Penalties – Ahmed (2)
England U20: Tries – Ollie Streeter, Hugh Shields (2), Jonny Weimann, Tate Williams; Conversions – Shields (3); Penalties – Shields (2)