Baby Boks are Under-21 World Champs

Tense finale

South Africa are the IRB's Under-21 World Champions after beating Australia 24-20 in a tense final as the IRB's Under-21 World Championship ended in bright sunshine in Mendoza on Saturday afternoon.

Final Day Results

Argentina vs Scotland, 39-7
England vs Wales, 57-32
Ireland vs Samoa, 34-17
Canada vs Italy, 33-30
New Zealand vs France,  47-21
South Africa vs Australia, 24-21

Final Standings:

1. South Africa
2. Australia
3. New Zealand
4. France
5. Argentina
6. Scotland
7. England
8. Wales
9. Ireland
10. Samoa
11. Canada
12. Italy

Australia vs South Africa, 24-20

The South Africans dominated all but the last five minutes of the match and deserved to win. The margin was probably not as slender as the sore suggests but they made life hard for themselves by conceding many penalties and missing many scoring opportunities, including kicks at goal where the usually reliable Morné Steyn had an off day. Missed opportunities were also on occasions the result of running too far with the ball instead of linking up.

The South African pack was stronger, especially at scrum time when they regularly destroyed the Australian pack, and a less resolute side than the Wallabies would have cracked.

The first clean break of the match came centre Thabang Molefe, fed a short pass by Pieter Louw. Tall fullback Henry Daniller was short as his opposite number Cameron Shepherd tackled securely.

After a long attack on advantage flank Derick Kuün powered over for a try near the posts. Steyn, who had missed two penalty shots by that stage, converted.

From the kick-off the Australians turned over possession and eventually won a penalthy which Shepherd goaled.

After another clean break by Molefe, Paul Delport, the South African captain, was taken off the field concussed.

Still the South Africans attacked until tighthead Sangoni Mxoli picked up and burst straight through the spread Australian defence to score near the posts. Again Steyn converted.

But after the hooter Shepherd goaled a second penalty to make the half-time score 14-6.

The South Africans scored a simple try from a scrum with an 8-9 move in midfield. Ruan Pienaar took Louw's pass and scooted through the defence to score close in. He converted his try. 21-6.

The Australians got their first try and it was a magnificent one. From their own territory they sent left-wing Digby Ioane racing down the left touch-line. The defence got him but the Australians spun the ball to the left where Shepherd did clever things to send right-wing Henari Veratau racing over for a try which Shepherd converted. That made it 21-13.

Pienaar then goaled a penalty and, as the South Africans continued to apply pressure, missed two more he would have expected to get.

The best part of the match for the Australians came in the last five minutes as they ran and ran. At the South African goal-line, they went over in a heap for a try credited to prop Benn Robinson,. Shepherd goaled and it was 24-20 but the Springboks hung on in the last minute plus referee's penalty time.

The victory was all the more poignant as on Friday rugby men in South Africa were remembering the World Cup victory ten years ago on 24 June.

Peter de Villiers, the coach of South Africa, said:  "The guys were focussed on winning this tournament and it was very hard asall the team came here with the same objective. We are very proud for what we've achieved and we're enjoying every minute.

"We didn't take our chances, but it was a typical final, played with a lot of nerves, but without doubt, the boys came through it.

"It was a very good game because it was played at a high tempo under pressure and that's the most enjoyable way to play the game, at its most demanding."

Paul Delport, the captain of South Africa, said:  "It was great to be able to get back on to the bench after the knock I got to see my team mates win the match. Australia is a great opponent and it was a really close game, but in the end we had just enough to win it, and I think it was a good game to watch as well.

"We worked very hard before we came here and we got it right strategically and tactically, and that's why we won.

Ben Mowen, the captain of Australia, said:  "It was a very hard game. I'm a bit disappointed, but only with the result, not with the way we played, above all because we got so close in the end."

"It was a high tempo game and we spent a lot of time defending. we had our moments, but South Africa are a great team and I take my hat off to them."
Scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries: Derick Kuün, Sangoni Mxoli, Ruan Pienaar
Cons: Morné Steyn 2, Ruan Pienaar
Pen: Ruan Pienaar

For Australia:
Tries: Henari Veratau, Benn Robinson
Cons: Cameron Shepherd 2
Pens: Cameron Shepherd 2

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 Richard Stanford, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Alex Walker, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Geoff Abram, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Pat O'Connor, 19 Shane Udy, 20 Dominic Fuller, 21 Scott Daruda, 22 Ben Batger

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

Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
Touch judges: Marcelo Pilara, Ricardo Ponce de León

New Zealand vs France, 47-21

This match had an air of inevitability and then swapped it for an air of unreality before reverting to the air of inevitability. But that period of unreality in the first half of the second half was spectacular and gave the game its life.

The first half belonged to New Zealand who led 20-0 at the break.

A sweeping movement with strong running by flank Serge Lilo produced a try for scrumhalf Andrew Ellis, which William Ripia converted. Ripia then kicked two penalty goals till on the stroke of half-time fullback Richard Kahui ran and grubbered down the left. The bounce was kind and stood up invitingly for centre Aaron Bancroft who accepted the invitation and swept round to score.

The second score of the second half was a penalty by Ripia, but before long the score was 23-21 to New Zealand and the impossible seemed possible.

First Vincent Roux raced down the left wing and the French were battering at the New Zealand line till eventually mobile lock Loic Jacquet plunged over. Flyhalf Régis Lespinas converted the try, as he did the next two from the left corner.

France nearly scored and may well have scored when enterprising fullback Maxime Médard answered a grubber into his territory with two flykicks that ended when he dived at, and possibly on, the ball behind the New Zealand posts. The try was not allowed but there was nothing wrong with a try built from a line-out inside the French half that involved many players and a break by Sylvain Mirande before Roux scored in the corner.

From the kick-off France came racing back. Médard broke magnificently and scrumhalf Sebastien Tillous-Borde snatched up the loose ball; and bundled over in the corner.

Then New Zealand took over with a series of magnificent tries. Bancroft broke on the half-way line and just at the end gave to Ellis who scored. 30-21 with 17 minutes left.

Daniel Waenga had two great breaks. His first brought the New Zealanders to the French line and eventually a penalty which Ripia goaled.

Waenga's second break ended with a try for replacement flyhalf Stephen Brett who sliced through to the posts. He converted. 40-21.

France now ran from everywhere but New Zealand battered them back into their own territory, and it was New Zealand who had the last say. Taniela Moa was close and from the subsequent five-metre scrum Hosea Gear came off the left wing to take a reverse pass and cut through to the posts.

It was a magnificent game marred just a little by two bouts of fighting. The first earned yellow cards for centres Bancroft and Mirande. The second went on after the last try and there was the unedifying sight of a New Zealand forward  giving every impression of repeatedly blowing his nose on a French jersey.

Jamie MacIntosh, the captain of New Zealand, said:  "We came out all guns blazing and intent on finishing off the tournament on the best possible note. But we were up against a French team who also came out to give it their all. Honestly, after 20 days and four days it's not easy."

Bryce Woodward, the coach of New Zealand, said:  "I think that we were around four or five points away from being in the final, the gap was that small. It was tough to get into the final and we could have been there. Third wasn't what we were aiming for, but we were very close and we were able to regroup and finish on a winning note."

Max Godemet, the manager of France, said:  "I am very pleased with the way we finished the tournament and it's great to make the third place play-off. Although it's disppointing not to win, I'm happy with the way the boys played as it's so important to play southern hemisphere sides. We are also very happy with the support we've received during the tournament."

Benjamín Kayser, the captain of France, said:  "Our first objective was to get into the semi finals and we managed that. We lost against a very good Australia and our objective today was to do our best against New Zealand. We're very near but we made too many errors and things didn't go for us. It's great to have such warm support from the locals."

Scorers:

For New Zealand:

Tries: Andrew Ellis 2, Aaron Bancroft, Stephen Brett, Hosea Gear
Cons: William Ripia 3, Stephen Brett 2
Pens: William Ripia 4

For France:
Tries: Loic Jacquet, Vincent Roux, Sebastien Tillous-Borde
Cons: Régis Lespinas 3

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 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Toby Lynn, 3 Karl Haitana, 2 Marcel Cummings-Toone, 1 Jamie MacIntosh (captain).
Replacements: 16 Lance Po-Ching, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Mikaele Tuu'u, 19 Kieran Read, 20 Taniela Moa, 21 Stephen Brett, 22 Daniel Waenga.

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

Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
Touch judges: Javier Rodríguez, Federico Cuesta

Argentina vs Scotland, 39-7

The game was played at Mendoza Rugby Club, in front of 4 000 speactators under bright sunlight.

Argentina's Santiago Bottini opened the scoring with a penalty and their first try soon followed, courtesy of a great run by Marcelo Bosch.

Argentina continued to dominate and it was no surprise when Francisco Merello added a second try after 12 minutes. Scotland did manage to get into the young Pumas' half, but Michael Adamson was unable to kick the resulting penalty.

Federico Amelong scored next for Argentina following a good run by José Manuel Roán to leave the half-time score 20-0 in favour of the home side.

Scotland upped the pace at the beginning of the second half, but it was Argentina who scored next, from a lethal counter attack finished off by Francisco Merello, who scored again soon after.

Finally Scotland got themselves on the scoreboard, Moray Low emerging from a rolling maul as the try scorer. But Argentina had the last word, backs and forwards combined to send replacement Juan Gómez over.

Eduardo Fernández Gill, the coach of Argentina, said:  "We achieved our goals in this World Championship and we are very happy with the way we've played. We were unlucky not to get into the semis, but I think we demonstrated that we are one of the best teams here. The team got better as the tournament went on, playing 15-man rugby. Although we did show some weaknesses we improved our defensive organisation and our attack."

Francisco Albarracín, the captain of Argentina, said:  "We are very pleased with what we have achieved. We will never forget this World Championship and the support we have received. We can now play for the full 80 minutes, although there are many areas to improve on. We didn't come here to finish in a particular position, but to play the best rugby we could, and in the end we managed that."

Ian Paxton, the coach of Scotland, said:  "Argentina played well in the forwards. They dominated us in the line-out and the scrum especially in the first half. We made a lot of handling errors and Argentina punished us. We are pleased with sixth position, which augurs well for the future."

Neil Cochrane, the captain of Scotland, said:  "Argentina deserve this win. We didn't get into the game mentally in the first half and their forwards punished us. We are happy with the overall result and our third place in the Six Nations. It shows that Scottish rugby is moving forward."

Scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries: Marcelo Bosch, Francisco Merello 3, Federico Amelong, Juan Gómez
Cons: Santiago Bottini 3
Pens: Santiago Bottini

For Scotland:
Try: Moray Low
Con: Garry Law

Argentina: 15 Marcelo Bosch, 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 Pedro Ledesma, 2 Matías Cortese, 1 Santiago Moreno
Replacements: 16 Horacio Gómez Smith, 17 Juan Gómez, 18 Osvaldo Acosta, 19 Carlos Roldan Verges, 20 Nicolás Bruzzone, 21 Santiago Fernández, 22 Gonzalo Sarasqueta

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 Fenwick.
Replacements: 16 Stevie Lawrie, 17 Stuart Corsar, 18 James Eddie, 19 Scott Forrest, 20 Greig Laidlaw, 21 Scott Wight, 22 Iain Kennedy

Referee: Paul Marks (Australia)
Touch judges: Eduardo Blengio, Salvador Encinas

England vs Wales, 57-32

England scored eight tries in their 57-32 win over Wales to leave them in seventh position overall in the IRB Under-21 World Championship 2005.

Five of those came in a second half that firmly swung the match in England's favour.

Wales's Aled Thomas opened the scoring with a try, which he himself converted, before stretching his team's lead to 10-0. England responded with a try by Tom Varndell, one of the key players on show, before three more England scores and one to Wales left the half-time score at 24-17.

In the second half, England maintained their level whilst Wales appeared to tire. Five good tries followed before Wales found a second wind to score two consolatio tries at the death.

Tom Varndell of England, said:  "I'm very happy. It's been a tough tournament and we hoped to finish higher up the standings. But next yeasr I hope we will be stronger. Wales were difficult opponents and the played well. Personally I'm happy with the way I played today, but not in the tournament overall. I can still qualify for next year's tournament and I hope to be able to play better."

Chris Davey, the coach of Wales, said:  "Obviously I'n not happy with the way we played, either today or in the rest of the tournament. We had much higher expectations. It's been a difficult tournament with problems before we left and injuries when we got here. To win two from five isn't a good return. But we are a young team and I hope it makes us stronger for next year."

Scorers:

For England:
Tries: Tom Varndell 3, Toby Flood 3, Matt Cornwell, James Haskell, Lee Dickson
Cons: Toby Flood 6

For Wales:
Tries: Aled Thomas, James Ireland, Dai Flanagan, David Watts
Cons: Aled Thomas 3
Pens: Aled Thomas, Aled Brew

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

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

Referee: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Touch judges: Martín Auad, Gaston Pedraza

Ireland vs Samoa, 34-17

Ireland defeated Samoa 34-17 to finish ninth in the overall standings of the IRB Under-21 World Championship 2005, thanks to a strong second half showing.

After an even opening, in which both teams played conservatively, Ireland began to use their forwards to drive Samoa towards their own line. Hooker Stuart Philpott emerged from a rolling maul from a lineout near the Samoan line to score the game's first try.

Samoa responded quickly, Anthony Tuimaga finding a gap in the Ireland defence to touch down. Before the break, Ireland stretched their lead, first through the boot of Gareth Steenson and then thabnks to a try by fullback Mark Kettyle, to leave the half-time score at 13-5 in favour of the men in green.

Samoa struggled to contain Ireland in the second half. Philpott grabbed his second try from another lineout maul before No.8 Stephen Ferris touched down after Kettyle caught a high ball.

Steenson scored two more penalties before Samoa replacement Mikaele Pesamino gave the score more respectability with two late tries.

Gareth Steenson, the captain of Ireland, said:  " It was a very hard game. In the first half we had plenty of the ball but we didn't use it well enough. In the second half we used the space better and made sure of the win. We leave happy as it's been a great experience for all of us.

Mark McDermott, the coach of Ireland, said:  "I think the players really enjoyed this last game of the tournament. We played much better than in our pool game against Samoa. We wanted to win the last two games and we achieved that.

Scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries: Stuart Philpott 2, Mark Kettyle, Stephen Ferris
Con: Gareth Steenson
Pens: Gareth Steenson 4

For Samoa:
Tries: Anthony Tuimaga, Mikaele Pesamino 2
Cons: Brian Toa Thetadig

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

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 James Lowrey, 19 Anesi Seiuli, 20 John Lemisio, 21 Martini Fuamatu, 22 Mikaele Pesamino

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Touch judges: Guillermo Martorell, Alberto Pasamonti

Canada vs Italy, 33-30

In front of 300 spectators at Chacras Rugby Club, Canada recorded their first victory at the IRB Under-21 World Championship 2005 to claim 11th in the overall standings and consign Italy to 12th.

It was a different story early on when Italy's Roberto Mariani opened the scoring with a try, reinforcing Italian dominance up front and especially in the scrum. Leonardo Ghiraldini added another to give the Italians a 12-0 lead.

But little by little, Canada eradicated early errors and hauled themselves back into the game. Phil Mack and captain Phil Spicer scored tries and Spicer's boot took Canada into the break 20-15 ahead.

Although Italy had more of the possession in the second half, they made a number of errors, which Canada capitalised on.

With minutes remaining, Italy's forwards rumbled towards the Canada line to allow Luigi Milani to level the scores.

But one minute later, Spicer, the standout player, kicked a drop goal to settle the game.

Marzio Zanato, the coach of Italy, said:  "Our forwards played very well, but our backs didn't. We made a number of handling errors and we turned over too much ball. Our attack didn't function. Our main problem at under-21 level is that there isn't much competition, so the playing level is low."

Tony Medina, the coach of Canada, said:  "All the work finally paid off. We had four hard rivals, amongst the strongest in the tournament, but luckily the guys have improved over the course of the three weeks. I'm very proud of what the players achieved today and during the whole tournament."

Dave Spicer, the captain of Canada, said:  "We've been thinking about this for a long time, it was our main objective. It's a big moment for the team, which has been together throughout the tournament and I'm really pleased for the guys who have put in so much effort."

Scorers:

For Canada:
Tries: Phil Mack, Dave Spicer, Jarod Selby
Cons: Dave Spicer 3
Pens: Dave Spicer 4

For Italy:
Tries: Roberto Mariani, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Emanuele Leonardi, Luigi Milani
Cons: Matthew Bressons 2
Pens: Matthew Bressons
Drop: Matthew Bressons

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

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

Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Touch judges: Javier Mancuso, Andrés Ramos