The Junior Springboks and New Zealand played out to an exciting 13-13 draw in their Under-20 Rugby Championship opener in extremely difficult conditions in the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Australia on Thursday.
The match was played in very wet and windy conditions, with a heavy downpour before the game creating puddles of water all over the field. The swirling wind, mostly in the South Africans' faces in the first half, further complicated matters.
The wet conditions made handling difficult and the Junior Boks struggled at the breakdowns but they were very strong on defence and carried the ball strongly. Stuck in their own half for most of the opening stanza, the SA U20s only had one attacking opportunity but could not make it count.
New Zealand enjoyed territorial advantage in the first half and a penalty on the half-hour mark by Isaac Hutchison (fullback) was the only points of the half, as the Kiwis hit the sheds leading by 3-0.
The game opened up in the second half when New Zealand stretched their lead to 8-0 as Stanley Solomon (wing) went over in the left corner from an attacking scrum in the 50th minute.
The Junior Boks knuckled down though and Tylor Sefoor (flyhalf) landed his first penalty just before the hour-mark to make it 8-3.
Moments later, the Junior Boks pounced with Joel Leotlela (wing) going over next to the posts after great work done by Bruce Sherwood (centre) as the SA U20s capitalised on a mistake under a kick by New Zealand.
After Sefoor's conversion and a second penalty four minutes later, following a massive scrum, the Junior Boks were suddenly leading by 13-8 and it could have been more had the SA U20 flyhalf not missed another attempt at a penalty.
With seven minutes to go, JF van Heerden (replacement lock) was yellow carded and a few minutes later, New Zealand scored their second try when Frank Vaenuku (wing) went over in the right-hand corner but the wind pushed the conversion wide to make it 13-13, which is how it ended shortly thereafter.
It was not the result they wanted but the Junior Springboks were happy with the effort and learnings from the clash.
That’s the assessment of Junior Springbok coach Bafana Nhleko.
“During the first half we had very little of the ball but the defence – both in terms of our system and the players’ attitude and effort – was exceptional,” said Nhleko.
“I am very proud of the efforts today, especially in a very difficult first half. It was a great opportunity to gain experience in different conditions and learn going forward. Now, we must recharge and go again, with intent, on Tuesday when we play against Australia.
“I am pleased we could defend like that when you’re constantly under pressure and you don’t concede penalties. They managed to go around us though, and especially the last try was maybe a bit of defensive fatigue when we only had 14 players on the field, but we also got rewarded for our efforts. We can be a threat with ball in hand, which I hope we can show in the next match.”
Nhleko said they were pleased with playing their part in an exciting clash in front of a very appreciative crowd.
“Although we had good ball carries, we must look after the ball better on the ground, and to be clinical when opportunities present themselves,” said Nhleko.
“I think we were not as sharp with our kicking game, decision making on the front foot and managing the backfield, where we got pinned back and could not get of our own half. We will learn and grow from this experience because Australia will present a very different challenge.”
Australia lost their opening game by 25-6 to Argentina, who now top the log after the first round of action.
Score
Junior Springboks 13 (0) - Try: Joel Leotlela. Conversion: Tylor Sefoor. Penalties: Sefoor (2).
New Zealand U20 13 (3) - Tries: Stanley Solomon, Frank Vaenuku. Penalty: Isaac Hutchison.
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