Australia fight back for victory over SA U20s

Australia Under-20 overturned a 17 point deficit in a tactically astute second half performance to beat the Junior Springboks 29-24 in their second round Rugby Championship U20 match on a sunny and mild Tuesday afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.

In what was a game of two halves, the Aussies did very well to dominate the territorial game after the break as they grew in confidence, while the Junior Boks failed to capitalise on their opportunities, especially in the first half.

The Junior Boks, who led by 14-0 at the break, started like a house on fire, with Xola Nyali (flanker) scoring a maul try in the third minute. Vusi Moyo (flyhalf) converted from the sideline to give the hosts a 7-0.

The Australians were under pressure in the scrums and line-outs, while the Junior Boks ran with intent and put in some big hits when their opponents had the ball but they made silly mistakes and failed to turn this into points, allowing the men in gold to work their way back into the game.

Australia capitalised from a few line-out throws that weren't straight and turned over possession on the ground a few times but the Junior Boks' defence held firm, keeping the pressure on their opponents.

This pressure finally reaped rewards as Siya Ndlozi (wing) scored an intercept try just before the half-hour mark, showing great pace to beat the cover defence. Moyo converted and 14-0 was a fair reflection of play at that stage.

The Junior Boks' scrum ascendancy continued to such an extent that Australia lost Trevor King (prop) to the sin bin for repeated infringements. With the clock into the red in the first half, the Junior Boks launched one last maul attack but after Nyali went over, the try was disallowed by the TMO for obstruction at the line-out.

Moyo made it 17-0 with an early penalty in the second half but Australia grew in confidence and as their passes started to stick, they forced the Junior Boks onto the backfoot.

Three tries in 15 minutes swung the game in favour of the Aussies, with Eamon Doyle (lock), Edwin Langi (replacement prop) and Lipina Ata (replacement hooker) crossing for the visitors.

Sid Harvey (fullback) converted all three and with just under 20 minutes to go, Australia took a 21-17 lead, somewhat against the run of play, although they deserve credit for putting the Junior Bok defence under pressure, with their tactical kicking game also helping their cause.

Attacking with confidence, the Aussies crossed for what looked to be a great try by Nick Conway (wing), only to be denied by a superb cover tackle by Cheswill Jooste.

Two minutes later, Conway again made lots of ground down the left but this time his inside pass found Xavier Rubens (centre), who scored Australia's fourth try to make it a nine-point game with 10 minutes on the clock. When Harvey landed a penalty five minutes later, it was game over for the Junior Boks, despite a good try by Batho Hlekani to give South Africa a losing bonus point.

In the first game on Tuesday, New Zealand were in impressive form as they scored a bonus-point 75-21 victory over Argentina's Pumitas, crossing the tryline 11 times and slotting 10 conversions, while only conceding three tries.

After two rounds, New Zealand lead the standings with seven points, followed by Australia on six, South Africa on five and Argentina on zero. On Sunday, the Aussies and Pumitas cross swords at 2pm, while the final match is at 4.10pm between the Junior Boks and the Kiwis.

Junior Springbok starting XV: 15 JC Mars, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Scott Nel, 12 Dominic Malgas, 11 Siya Ndlozi; 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Ceano Everson; 8 Wandile Mlaba, 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Xola Nyali; 5 Morne Venter, 4 Riley Norton (capt); 3 Herman Lubbe, 2 Juandre Schoeman, 1 Simphiwe Ngobese. Replacements: 16 HB Odendaal, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Jean Erasmus, 19 Neil Hansen, 20 Thando Biyela, 21 Elrich Visser, 22 Kyle Smith, 23 Gino Cupido.

Score

Junior Springboks 24 (14) - Tries: Xola Nyali, Siya Ndlozi, Batho Hlekani. Conversions: Vusi Moyo (2), Kyle Smith. Penalty: Moyo.

Australia 29 (0) - Tries: Eamon Doyle, Edwin Langi, Lipina Ata, Xavier Rubens. Conversions: Sid Harvey (3). Penalty: Harvey.

Fixtures

Sunday

2pm: Argentina v Australia

4.10pm: Junior Boks v New Zealand