Australia to face Baby Boks in the Final

Hosts Argentina beat England

South Africa have defeated defending champions New Zealand 16-12 at the Liceo Rugby Club in Mendoza on Tuesday to reach the Final of the International Rugby Board (IRB) Under-21 World Championship. Australia then clinched the other Final berth by beating France 28-16 at the same ground.

The Baby Boks went 10-0 up and then held off a comeback by their opponents to seal the win. They now play Australia, who beat France in the second semi, in the Final at Malvinas Argentinas on Saturday.

Hosts Argentina will play for fifth place after beating England 20-6 at Mendoza Rugby Club. Ireland will finish either ninth or 10th, having defeated Canada 77-3.

Results Day 4

Argentina vs England, 20-6
Australia vs France, 28-16
Ireland vs Canada, 77-3
Samoa vs Italy, 38-25
Scotland vs Wales, 43-25
South Africa vs New Zealand, 16-12

South Africa vs New Zealand, 16-12

South Africa became the first side to reach this year's IRB Under-21 World Championship, beating reigning champions New Zealand 16-12 at Liceo Rugby Club.

Under cloudy and rainy skies with a cold mist, New Zealand were unable to break down the South Africa defence, which spent a large proportion of the second half in its own territory.

From the start, South Africa took the battle to New Zealand in the forwards and were rewaqrded after 18 minutes, when, from a scrum near the New Zealand line, Cedric Mkhize found a gap between the opposition centres to score.

New Zealand responded by camping themselves in the young Springboks half. But despite the pressure, they were unable to put any points on the board.

Although South Africa lost Chiliboy Ralepelle to the sin bin, Morné Steyn landed a penalty to extend their lead to 10-0 at half time.

New Zealand reduced the lead to one point after the break with a great try by Hose Gear and another to Serge Lilo.

But that was as near as they got on the scoreboard despite concerted pressure on the Springbok line. Morné Steyne added another penalty to stretch South Africa's lead and that was the last score of the game.

Bryce Woodward, the coach of New Zealand, said: "This was a really close game we lost, and 16-12 tells you how close it was. We had a number of opportunities to score and to win the game. I would be lying if I said I was completely satisfied with the way the team played, but we didn't get the rub of the green since we got a number of penalties in the final minutes, but it didn't help us win the match."

Jamie MacIntosh, the captain of New Zealand, said: "It was a very tough match and we put everything we had into it and battled until the final second. It's very disappointing to lose in this manner, but the four weeks together have helped us come together, and we must now think only about the next game. Today the conditions didn't allow us to play the way we wanted to, but neither did we take advantage when they were down to 14 and that's why we lost."

Paul Delport, the captain of South Africa, said: "We're happy to be in the final, we won because we played with a lot of heart and I'm proud of the boys. New Zealand is a great team, but we played better on the day. France and Australia are both excellent sides, and so we'll just have to see who wins and prepare accordingly."

Peter de Villiers, South Africa's coach , said: "We knew New Zealand would be very tough and play with a lot of heart, but today my boys were very clinical and we did all we needed to win a match at this level. We won thanks to our amazing defence, becuae we really believe in ourselves and our game, and because we took our chances in the first half."

Scorers:

For South Africa:
Try: Mkhize
Con: Steyn
Pens: Steyn 3

For New Zealand:
Tries: Gear, Lilo
Con: Ripia

South Africa: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Cedric Mkhize, 13 Earl Rose, 12 Thabang Molefe, 11 Mzwandile Stick, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Paul Delport (captain), 8 Pieter Louw, 7 Hilton Lobberts, 6 Derick Kuün, 5 Cliff Milton, 4 Nicolai Blignaut, 3 Sangoni Mxoli, 2 Chilliboy Ralepelle, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Harry Vermaas, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Gerhard Mostert, 20 Martin Sithole, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Marius Delport.

New Zealand: 15 Richard Kahui, 14 James Somerset, 13 Aaron Bancroft, 12 Dwayne Sweeney, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 William Ripia, 9 Andrew Ellis, 8 Peter Nixon, 7 Serge Lilo, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Toby Lynn, 3 Karl Haitana, 2 Marcel Cummings-Toone, 1 Jamie MacIntosh (captain).
Replacements: 16 Lance Po-Ching, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Jeremy Thrush, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Taniela Moa, 21 Stephen Brett, 22 Daniel Waenga.

Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)

Australia vs France, 28-16

Australia joined South Africa in the final of the IRB Under-21 World Championship 2005 with a 28-16 victory over France at the cold, damp Liceo Rugby Club.

13-6 up at half time, Australia scored two more tries in the second half, despite being temporarily reduced to 14 men, to kill off any hopes France had of getting back into the match.

With a penalty apiece in the opening exchanges, Australia took the lead with a Cameron Shepherd try at the end of the first quarter. Digby Ioane extended the Australia lead before the break with another try.

After half time, France, mainly through flyhalf Lionel Beauxis, showed more of their trademark flowing rugby, but they were unable to capitalise on the yellow card to Australia hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau.

In fact it was Australia, through Shepherd and Ioane, who scored two more tries to kill the game off.

At the end, France tried desperately to score a consolation try. But the Australia defence held firm to see them through to the final on Saturday.

The big difference was in the centres where Adam Ashley-Cooper and Lloyd Johansson were too strong and too fast for the French, creating opportunities for wings eager to finish.

Australia scored five tries to one. Had Cameron Shepherd's kicking been up to its usual standard, Australia would have won handsomely.

Max Godemet, the French manager, said: "We lost the game because, although we played well when we had the ball, we couldn't break them down. I think we lacked a bit of intensity and variety to get through the Australian defence, we managed it only a couple of times."

Chris Hickey, Australia's coach, said: "There was a period in the second half when France had the ball and put us under a lot of pressure, which we defended well. If our defence hadn't functioned it would have been a completely different game. We'll have to see if we've picked up any injuries and study South Africa, who are a great side."

Scorers:

For Australia:
Tries: Lloyd Johansson, Digby Ioane 2, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Cameron Shepherd
Pen: Cameron Shepherd

For France:
Try: Jean-Baptiste Peyras
Con: Lionel Beauxis
Pens: Lionel Beauxis 3

France: 15 Jean-Baptiste Peyras, 14 Benjamin Thiery, 13 Thibault Lacroix, 12 Sylvain Mirande, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Julien Tomas, 8 Marc Baget, 7 Fabien Alexandre, 6 Gérald Gambetta (captain), 5 Damien Fevre, 4 Denys Drozdz, 3 Yohann Montes, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Pierre-Philippe Lafond.
Replacements: 16 Frédéric Montagnat, 17 Alexandre Bastin, 18 Loic Jacquet, 19 Damien Chouly, 20 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 21 Régis Lespinas, 22 Vincent Roux

Australia: 15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Henari Veratau, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Lloyd Johansson, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Nic Berry, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Ben Mowen (captain), 5 Dean Mumm, 4 Richard Stanford, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Geoff Abram, 17 Alex Walker, 18 Pat O'Connor, 19 Shane Udy, 20 Dominic Fuller, 21 Scott Daruda, 22 Ben Batger.

Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Argentina vs England, 20-6

Argentina used a dominant scrum as the basis for a 20-6 win over England at Mendoza Rugby Club in front of 2,500 spectators, and will play for fifth place in the IRB Under-21 World Championship on Saturday.

The turning point of the game, played in cold, rainy conditions, came at the end of the first half, when the Argentina forwards began to turn the screw on their English opponents. From a five-metre scrum, scrumhalf Francisco Albarracín fed Horacio Agulla, who scored the opening try.

Toby Flood had opened the scoring with a penalty for England earlier in the half.

The Argentina forwards continued their domination at the beginning of the second half, but a Santiago Bottini penalty was cancelled out by Shane Geraghty.

From a lineout and rolling maul near the English line, Argentina finally made their superiority pay with a well-worked try for Juan Gómez.

With that try and a further Bottini penalty, the game was effectively over. England tried to break down the Argentina defence in the final minutes, but the home crowd who had braved the bad weather went home satisfied.

Jim Mallinder, the coach of England, said: "We're very disappointed with the way we played today, but you have to give credit to Argentina, who played better than us. Now we have to think about Scotland or Wales, because we want to finish the tournament on the right note, playing good rugby."

Eduardo Fernandez Gill, Argentina's coach, said: "I'm very happy we won. You don't beat England every day and we're going to enjoy this win. We didn't play well in the first half. We got two yellow cards, but after that we woke up and controlled the game."

Francisco Albaracín, Argentina's captain, said: "It was maybe the worst game we've played so far, but we came through it. Conditions didn't suit us, but we were focussed on doing better than last year. It's always good to beat England and they barely got in our 22."

Scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries: Horacio Agulla, Juan Gómez
Cons: Santiago Bottini 2
Pens: Santiago Bottini 2

For England:
Pens: Toby Flood, Shane Geraghty

England: 15 Olly Morgan, 14 Tom Biggs, 13 Adam Dehaty, 12 Simon Whatling (captain), 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Mark Hopley, 7 Will Skinner, 6 David Seymour, 5 William Bowley, 4 Richard Blaze, 3 Aston Croall, 2 Neil Briggs, 1. Dylan Hartley
Replacements: 16 David Ward, 17 Michael Cusack, 18 Wayne Thompson, 19 James Haskell, 20 Ben Foden, 21 Shane Geraghty, 22 Ben Russell

Argentina: 15 Gonzalo Sarasqueta, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, Matt Cornwell (captain), 12 Federico Amelong, 11 Francisco Merello, 10 Santiago Bottini, 9 Francisco Albarracin (captain), 8 José Guzman, 7 José Manuel Roan, 6 Joaquín Brinnand, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Marcos Lobato, 3 Osvaldo Acosta, 2 Matías Cortese, 1 Santiago Moreno
Replacements: 16 Horacio Gómez Smith, 17 Juan Gómez, 18 Pablo Mollerach, 19 Carlos Roldan Verges, 20 Nicolás Bruzzone, 21 Santiago Fernández, 22 Martín Bustos Moyano

Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

Ireland vs Canada, 77-3

Ireland defeated Canada 77-3 to secure a place in the 9th/10th place play-off on a wet and cold day at Chacras Rugby Club.

Ronan Loughney emerged from the bottom of maul over the Canada line to claim Ireland's first try. Canada responded with some enterprising play of their own, rewarded with Steve Woodward's penalty.

Ireland continued to dominate possession, but attempts to spread the ball wide proived tricky with a wet ball, so they reverted to a forward-dominated strategy. No.8 Stephen Ferris' break brought the next score.

Ireland added two more tries before half time, both by Daniel Riordan.

The second half saw Ireland increase their territorial domination and Alex Dunlop's try was the first of many as the Irish backs made the most of a tiring Canadian defence.

Mark McDermott, coach of Ireland, said: "We're very happy with the result. We're pleased with our frowards and the whole team, seeing as they don't have a great deal of experience."

Josh Dunning, the captain of Canada, said: "It was a very physical game, especially in the forwards, where they dominated us. We couldn't get clean ball to play our game and it is another example of playing against strong teams in this tournament."

Tony Medina, the Canadian coach, said: "We want to win one game in this tournament and we'll do all we can to achieve it. It's our main objective."

Scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries: Ronan Loughney, Joseph Merrigan, Stephen Ferris, Daniel Riordan 2,  Alex Dunlop, Andrew Trimble 2, Robert Sweeney, Paul McKenzie, Ross Noonan
Cons: Gareth Steenson 7, Jonathan Sexton
Pens: Gareth Steenson 2

For Canada:
Pen: Steve Woodward

Ireland: 15 Mark Kettyle, 14 Daniel Riordan, 13 Andrew Trimble, 12 Gareth Steenson (captain), 11 Paul McKenzie, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Cillian Willis, 8 Trevor Richardson, 7Christopher Henry, 6 Anthony Kavanagh, 5 Ryan Caldwell, 4 Alex Dunlop, 3 Ronan Loughney, 2 Joseph Merrigan, 1 Robert Sweeney.
Replacements: 16 Stuart Philpott, 17 John Andress, 18 Kevin McLaughlin, 19 Stephen Ferris, 20 Gerry Hurley, 21 Conan Doyle, 22 Ross McCarron

Canada: 15 Jarod Selby, 14 Phil Mack, 13Dave Stockton, 12 John Benson, 11Dan West, 10 Steve Woodward, 9 James Buchanan, 8 Nolan Ott, 7 David Nielsen, 6 Sam Val-Zehan, 5 Cody Berg, 4 Josh Dunning (captain), 3 Matt Evans, 2 Ken Van Allen, 1 Jordan Allers.
Replacements: 16 Rogan Verboven, 17 Glen McKinnon, 18 Pat Kearney, 19 Aaron Goddard, 20 Spence Dalziel, 21 Steve Piatek, 22 Adam Kleeberger

Referee: Carlo Damasco (Italy)

Samoa vs Italy, 38-25

This was a repeat of the match played on Day 3.

In an even and entertaining game at Chacras Rugby Club, Samoa defeated Italy 38-25 to qualify for the ninth place play-off.

Italy began the game on top, but were hit on the counter by Ekeroma Sefo, who ran 70 metres to score the game's first try.

The Italians hit back soon after, their forwards driving at the Samoan line and referee Paul Marks had no option but to award the penalty try.

Samoa once again benefitted from an Italian error to send Anthony Tuimaga over the try-line for their second score, and a further penalty apiece left the half time score at 23-10 to Samoa.

Ricardo Robuschi scored a penalty for Italy soon after the break, but Samoa stretched their lead with a Gasolo Salima try.

Italy made a number of substitutions to try to get back into the game and they had the desired effect as Valerio Bernabo and then Gregorio Rebecchini both touched down to bring them to within five points of Samoa.

But Samoa responded to put the game out of sight with a try to Anesi Seluli and a penalty by Timoteo Iosua.

Marzio Zanatto, the coach of Italy, said: "We don't know how to keep the ball, which you need to score tries and win games. Samoa were better organised. We are going to battle for the win against Canada because we don't want to go through the whole tournament without a win."

Robert Barbieri, Italy's No.8, said: "We didn't get our attitude right for this game and that was only going to lead to one result, a defeat for us."

Sogi Vincent Meleisea, the Samoan coach, said: "We're very happy because we practised what we preached beforehand and we concentrated for the full 80 minutes. We're not used to playing in such cold conditions and so we're very pleased with the result."

Scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries: Ekeroma Sefo, Anthony Tuimaga, Gasolo Salima, Anesi Seiuli
Cons: Morrison Tavana 3
Pens: Morrison Tavana 2, Timoteo Iosua

For Italy:
Tries: Penalty Try, Valerio Bernabé, Gregorio Rebecchini
Cons: Riccardo Robuschi, Matthew Bressons
Pens: Riccardo Robuschi 2

Italy: 15 Riccardo Robuschi, 14 Marco Rosa, 13 Matteo Pratichetti, 12 Enrico Patrizio, 11 Daniele Forcucci, 10 Gregorio Rebecchini, 9 Giulio Toniolatti, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Emanuele Leonardi, 6 Nicola Cattina, 5 Valerio Bernabó (captain), 4 Tommaso Reato, 3 Giuseppe Cerqua, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Adrien Vignedonati.
Replacements: 16 Alessio Battisti, 17 Christian Gatto, 18 Luigi Milani, 19 Roberto Talotti, 20 Marco Pelizzari, 21Matthew Bressons, 22 Vittorio Candiago

Samoa: 15 Timoteo Iosua, 14 Fautua Otto, 13 Ekeroma Sefo, 12 Brian Toa Thetadig, 11 Gasolo Salima, 10 Rambo Tavana (captain), 9 Gafa Siona, 8 Anthony Tuimaga, 7 Sue Mikaele, 6 Stephen Sasagi, 5 Fale Solomona, 4 Julius Tafunai, 3 Kolli Mafileo, 2 Andrew Viliamu, 1 Sonny Faata.
Replacements: 16 Asomaliu Faamoe, 17 Jake Grey, 18 Anesi Seiuli, 19 Frances Tafua, 20 John Lemisio, 21 Martini Fuamatu, 22 Mikaele Pesamino

Referee: Paul Marks (Australia)

Wales vs Scotland, 43-25

Scotland defeated Wales 43-25 at Mendoza Rugby Club to book a fifth place play-off against Argentina on Saturday.This match was a repeat of earlier in the tournament. Earlierr Wales had beaten Scotland 24-8.

The Scots produced their best performance of the tournament, with flyhalf Michael Adamson at the heart of much of their work, to beat this year's Under-21 Six Nations champions in convincing fashion.

Wales started strongly and found themselves 10-3 up midway through the first half, thanks in part to a try by Jamie Roberts.

But Scotland responded and Nic de Luca's try tipped the balance in their favour as Wales began to make errors, which the Scots made the most of.

Richard Fussel did score for Wales in the second half, but Moray Low and Ben Addison did the same for Scotland, with Adamson converting both and continuing his fine vein of form.

Iain Paxton, the coach of Scotland, said: "I'm very pleased with the result. I think we played our best game today. The key was that we had control of the ball. We're also happy because we now get to play Argentina with the public all behind them. It will be a great experience."

Neil Cochrane, the captain of Scotland, said: "It was a very hard game. Games against Wales are always difficult, but we stopped them in the first half, we pressured them and we played the game by being ahead. In the second half they scored first, but we put the pressure on them again and played them on the counter attack."

Chris Davey, the Welsh coach, said: "I'm very disappointed with the result. We made a lot of chances in the first half which we didn't take. In the second half Scotland upped the ante, and they ended up deserved winners."

Scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries: Nic de Luca 2, Moray Low, Ben Addison
Cons: Michael Adamson 4
Pens: Michael Adamson 2
Drop: Alan Nash

For Wales:
Tries: Jamie Roberts, Richard Fussell, Gerwyn Price
Cons: Dai Flanagan, Ricky Williams
Pens: Dai Flanagan 2

Wales: 15 Jamie Roberts, 14 Aled Brew , 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 David Watts, 11 Richard Fussell, 10 Dai Flanagan, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Jonathan Mills (captain), 7 Rhys Shellard, 6 Adam Powell, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Wyn Jones, 3 Cai Griffiths, 2 Gerwyn Price, 1 Scot Roberts
Replacements: 16 Edward Shervington, 17 Phillip Osborne, 18 Tom Hearne, 19 Sam Wahdan, 20 James Ireland, 21 Aled Thomas, 22 Ricky Williams

Scotland: 15 Alan Nash, 14 Ben Addison, 13 Ben Cairns, 12 Garry Law, 11 Nic De Luca, 10 Michael Adamson, 9 Alasdhair McFarlane, 8 John Beattie, 7 Neil Cochrane (captain), 6 Colin White, 5 Ian Nimmo, 4 Sean Tomes, 3 Moray Low , 2 Ross Ford, 1. Stuart Corsar
Replacements: 16 Stevie Lawrie, 17 Stuart Fenwick, 18 James Eddie, 19 Scott Forrest, 20 Greig Laidlaw, 21 Scott Wight, 22 Iain Kennedy

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)