High scoring in Junior World Cup
Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:44
The Junior World Championship kicked off in Wales on Friday evening with several big wins, the biggest of which went to South Africa who played the USA in Wrexham.
In eight matches the winners scored 406 points to 109.
The only northern team to beat southern opposition was England.
Match Day 1 Results
Pool A
Argentina vs Ireland, 17-9
New Zealand vs Tonga, 48-9
Pool B
South Africa vs USA, 108-18
Samoa vs Scotland, 29-17
Pool C
England vs Fiji, 41-17
Australia vs Canada, 81-12
Pool D
France vs Japan, 53-17
Wales vs Italy, 29-10
Match details
South Africa vs USA, 108-18
The South African Under-20 team began their assault on the IRB Junior World Championship title by posting a century of points in a 108-18 victory over the USA Under-20s in Wales on Friday.
Hooker and man of the match Pieter van Vuuren scored a hat-trick of tries in a 16 try to two victory at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham.
“It was a good start but there was a time I was a little worried,” coach Eric Sauls told sarugby.co.za.
"I had to pull them back at half-time and get them back to the plan and the patterns we wanted to play and I was pleased with way we played in the second half.”
captain and eighthman Gerrit-Jan van Velze scored two tries as did centre Stefan Watermeyer and replacement flyhalf François Brummer. Sias Ebersohn kicked ten conversions and scored a try for a personal haul of 25 points while Brummer also kicked four conversions to add to his tries for 18 points.
“We scrummed well from the start and put them under a lot of pressure and I was very pleased with the support play and the offloading,” said Sauls. In the second half I put on the players I expect to be starting against Scotland in the next game and they fitted in well.”
Scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: Van Vuuren 3, Van Velze 2, Watermeyer 2, Brummer 2, Marole, Sias Ebersohn, Robert Ebersohn, Mapoe, Nhlapo, Willis.
Cons: Sias Ebersohn 10, Brummer 4.
For USA:
Tries: Palamo, Johnston.
Con: Treacy.
Pen: Treacy 2
Teams:
South Africa: 15 Cecil Afrika, 14 Vainon Willis, 13 Stefan Watermeyer, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Lionel Mapoe, 10 Josias Ebersohn, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Gerrit Jan van Velze (captain), 7 Ralph Koster, 6 Thiliphaut Marole, 5 Sobelo Nhlapo, 4 Cornell Hess, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Pieter Janse van Vuuren, 1 Jean-Jacques Rossouw
Replacements:16 Henri Bantjes, 17 Frederick Kirsten, 18 Martin Muller, 19 Lusaseni Luvuyiso, 20 Francois Houghaard, 21 Francois Brummer, 22 Wilton
Pietersen
USA: 15 Nate Ebner, 14 Adam Ducoing, 13 Thretton Palamo, 12 Jack Tracy, 11 Zach Test, 10 Tyler Siceloff, 9 Sean Treacy, 8 Taylor Mokate, 7 Austin Cella, 6 Liam Murphy, 5 Scott Lavalla (captain), 4 Kevin Erskine, 3 Shawn Pittman, 2 Bill Wynne, 1 Stevie Johnston
Replacements: 16 Ryan Fitcher, 17 Maxime Paganini, 18 Teddy Barron, 19 Ryan McTiernan, 20 Scott Metcalf, 21 Steven Sablan, 22 Gareth Jones
England v Fiji, 41-17
Miles Benjamin demonstrated the finishing power that saw him star in the Guinness Premiership this season as England opened their Junior World Championship campaign in style against Fiji.
The wing scored two of England’s sublime six first-half tries with Noah Cato, Alex Goode and Seb Stegmann also touching down.
Goode finished with 16 points from his try, penalty and four conversions but England went off the boil in the second half, conceding three tries in the final quarter as Fiji threw caution to the wind.
Peni Rokodiva, Waqabaqa Kotobalavu and William Saukuru all touched down and Alex Rokobaro converted.
There were five changes to the England side that completed a Grand Slam of RBS Six Nations victories in March with flank Calum Clark the only new cap.
He was joined by Miles Benjamin, Jordan Turner-Hall, Ben Thomas and Scott Freer as England kicked off wearing their blue change strip to avoid a colour clash with their opponents.
England had a few problems of their own making, particularly in the early lineouts, protecting their kickers and with a few over-ambitious passes.
But any minor niggles were overshadowed by some sensational attacking movement that created six first half tries.
Benjamin and Cato – just as they did in the Six Nations – set the ball rolling with two tries in the first 15 minutes, the first created by Clark and Simpson’s work down the blindside, the second by Ellis and Fisher.
Goode added a conversion and penalty, then supplied the extra points to his own try after Simpson spotted an undefended area before tapping and going.
Benjamin’s second try on the half-hour was a powerful finish after Stegmann opened up Fiji with his break down the right and the wing then finished the best score of the game, an 80 metre effort started by Cato’s cruising run with prop Nathan Catt up to supply the final pass.
Turner-Hall picked the perfect line to cut through an overworked defence just before the interval with Goode converting to put England 41 points clear.
England dominated the third quarter without reproducing their early incisive attacks before Fiji enjoyed their best spell of the game, running from deep and scoring twice in five minutes.
Replacement scrumhalf Rokodiva struck after Jack Lalai’s drive down the left and substitute flank Kotobalavu twisted over after a lineout drive.
Saukuru added Fiji’s third after replacement Alex Tait was left with too many attackers to deal with three minutes from time with hooker Joe Gray off the field in the sin-bin.
The second half was aptly summed up in the time remaining as England kept up the pressure without being able to unpick their opponents’ defence again.
Scorers:
For England:
Tries: Benjamin 2, Cato, Goode, Stegmann, Turner-Hall.
Cons: Goode 4
Pen: Goode
For Fiji:
Tries: Rokodiva, Kotobalavu, Sakuru.
Con: Rokobaro
Teams:
England: 15 Noah Cato, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 Mark Odejobi, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Alex Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Hugo Ellis (captain), 7 Calum Clark, 6 Jon Fisher, 5 Ben Thomas, 4 Scott Hobson, 3 Alex Corbisiero, 2 Scott Freer, 1 Nathan Catt
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17
Billy Moss, 18 Gregor Gillanders, 19 Matthew Cox, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Rob Miller, 22 Alex Tait
Fiji: 15 Alex Rokobaro, 14 William Saukuru, 13 Isikeli Vuruna, 12 Eroni Tara, 11 Wiliame Umu, 10 Anare Vakawaletabua, 9 Vuga Tagicakibau, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Jese Cirikisuva (captain), 6 Ratu Levula, 5 Tevita Tuiloa, 4 Temo Vakaloloma, 3 Jack Lalai, 2 Saula Qalomai, 1 Seru Qaranivalu
Replacements: 16 Seru Cakobau, 17 Saulo Romumu, 18 Waqabaca Kotobalavu, 19 Uraia Verenadavui, 20 Peni Rokodiva, 21 John Stewart, 22 Pate Kocoturaga
Argentina vs Ireland, 17-9
Argentina opened their account at the IRB Junior World Championship with a hard-fought win over Ireland in an entertaining game at a sun-drenched Cardiff Arms Park on Friday.
The two teams were evenly matched and Ireland, who enjoyed long periods of possession, will be disappointed to have come away empty-handed as they watched their opponents make the most of every chance they had.
Flyhalf Benjamin Madero gave Argentina the lead with a penalty but his opposite number Martin Dufficy levelled scores with a well-struck kick minutes later.
Both sides looked inventive going forward, with several breaks catching the eye, but it was Argentina who raced through for the opening try when wing Diego Palma took a superb inside pass from full back Joaquin Tucullet to finish off a sweeping move.
The Argentineans grew in confidence after their solid start, despite losing second row Guido Lofiego to the sin-bin, and they pressed hard to increase their lead for the remainder of the half, only being denied by some excellent Irish defending, with full back Niall Morris being forced into some last-ditch tackling in the closing exchanges.
Ireland had it all to do in the second half, with Argentina leading 10-3 and looking impressive with ball in hand, but a superb long-range penalty from Dufficy put the Irish back in touch right after the turnaround to reduce the gap.
Both sides were reduced to 14 when Argentina captain Lisandro Ahualli de Chazal and Ireland's Kieran Essex were binned for separate incidents, but Ireland still managed to narrow the gap when Dufficy kicked another impressive penalty.
Ireland had plenty of possession and a try looked certain when speedy wing Sean Scanlon dived for the line, but he was pushed into touch by the covering Argentine defence.
The Irish were boosted by the effort though and put together some impressive phases, but crucially, they couldn't make the breakthrough for a winning score and Argentina wrapped the game up when centre Juan Pablo Estelles ran in an intercepted pass before the whistle with Madero adding the extras.
Afterwards Argentina Man of the Match Martin Landajo said: “It was a very tough game. Ireland played a lot through their backs but we defended very well and that was the key to winning today. We knew the game would be tough so we were prepared that the match might not be decided till the last 10 minutes so we were ready. Next up we have Tonga so we are thinking about that game now.”
Ireland coach Eric Elwood said: “We are disappointed. The lads are shattered and though we are not saying this game was everything in the group, it was important for us to get off to a good start. It was a very competitive game and we certainly created enough chances to win it. With only 12 or 14 minutes to go there was only a point in it so we are devastated not to have won it. There were still plenty of positives and we will take those on going forward into the other games.”
Ireland captain Paul Ryan said: “We had really targeted this game and though we had a lot of possession the bounce of the ball didn't go our way. It’s extremely disappointing but it's only the beginning and we can't keep our heads down so we need to bounce back from this before our other games in this pool with New Zealand and Tonga to come. It just wasn't our day.”
Scorers:
For Argentina:
Tries: Palma, Estelles
Cons: Madero 2
Pens: Madero
For Ireland:
Pens: Dufficy 3
Teams:
Argentina: 15 Joaquin Tucullet, 14 Belisario Agulla, 13 Juan Pablo Estelles, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Diego Palma, 10 Benjamín Madero, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Francisco Panessi, 7 Lisandro Ahualli de Chazal (captain), 6 Ignacio Pasman, 5 Santiago Guzmán, 4 Guido Lofiego, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Esteban Bustillo, 1 Mauricio Guidone
Replacements: 16 Luciano Leibson, 17 Ignacio di Santi, 18 Guillermo Roan, 19 Marcos Insúa, 20 Lucas Alcácer Mackinlay, 21 Nicolás Sanchez, 22 Federico Salazar,
Ireland: 15 Niall Morris, 14 Sean Scanlon, 13 Eoin O'Malley, 12 Conor Cleary, 11 Chris Cochrane, 10
Martin Dufficy, 9 David Moore, 8 Patrick Mallon, 7 Paul Ryan (captain), 6 Kieran Essex, 5 Eoin Sheriff, 4 James Sandford, 3 Ben Barclay, 2 Jason Harris-Wright, 1 Paul Karayiannis
Replacements: 16 Stephen Douglas, 17 Stephen Archer, 18 Ian Nagle, 19 Michael Entwistle (,R), 20 Ian Porter, 21 Ian Madigan, 22 Eamonn Sheridan
Samoa vs Scotland, 29-17
Samoa wing Alatasi Tupou raced the length of the field in the dying moments to seal a morale-boosting win for the Pacific islanders in their match against Scotland at the Racecourse Ground.
The Samoans, making a dynamic start to the Pool B game, looked good for an early try but had to be content with a seventh minute drop goal from Tupou. Scotland had a chance to reply but centre Stephen McColl was off target with his long-range attempt.
Then after Tupou had missed at goal, Scotland were handed a second opportunity to register first points following the sin-binning of Samoa number 8 Misioka Timoteo. This time McColl made no mistake to level the scores.
The kicking duel continued, with flyhalf Ioane Sefo kicking a penalty to give Samoa a 6-3 advantage.
With the game crying out for a try Scotland duly obliged. Number 8 Craig Simmonds stole possession at a Samoa lineout and when the ball was shipped to flyhalf Ruaridh Jackson, the Scotland skipper chased his own neat grubber kick for a try under the posts leaving McColl with an easy conversion.
Again Samoa answered with a penalty, a second success for Sefo to narrow Scotland’s lead to just one point at half-time.
Scotland appeared to have the better of matters at the beginning of the second half until a sublime piece of work by Samoa centre Alvin Smith and support from lock Maselino Paulino produced a try for replacement Sanele Vavae Tuilagi.
Sefo missed the conversion but atoned immediately with a successful penalty to put Samoa ahead 17-10.
Samoa then extended their lead with a brilliant solo try by flank Afe Aiono, the skipper taking a tap free kick, before gathering his kick ahead to touch down under the posts, leaving Sefo with the easiest of conversion kicks.
Scotland hit back with an equally good try from a midfield surge by McColl and fine finishing from right wing Lee Jones, McColl converting from wide out.
But any hopes Scotland had of closing the gap were dashed when Tupou intercepted in his own 22 metre area before racing the length of the field for the final points of the game.
Samoa captain Afa Aiono said: “This was a historic day for Samoa – our first win over a European side. So it’s very exciting for the boys.”
Scotland captain Ruaridh Jackson said: “We needed to win this game. We have to keep our heads up as we approach our game against South Africa.”
Scorers:
For Samoa:
Tries: Tuilagi, Aiono,
Tupou
Con: Sefo
Pens: Sefo 3
Drop: Tupou
For Scotland:
Tries: Jackson, Jones
Cons: McColl 2
Pen: McColl
Teams:
Samoa: 15 Fa'atoina Autagavaia, 14 Alatasi Tupou, 13 Aaron Smith, 12 Alvin Smith, 11 David Masoe, 10 Ioane Sefo, 9 Tenina Sauileoge, 8 Misioka Timoteo, 7 Afa Aiono (captain), 6 Richard Muagututia, 5 Levi Asifa'amatala, 4 Maselino Paulino, 3 Roysiu Tolufale, 2 Kalem Chan Boon, 1 Siaosi Iona
Replacements: 16 Anetelea Lalotoa, 17 Davidson Fiu Tavita, 18 Ray Pese, 19 Ikoke Solomona, 20 Ivy Leileisiuao, 21 Talalelei Malo, 22 Sanele Vavae Tuilagi
Scotland: 15 Peter Horne, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Chris Kinloch, 12 Stephen McColl, 11 Paul Loudon, 10 Ruaridh Jackson (captain), 9 Peter Jericevich, 8 Craig Simmonds, 7 Andrew Rose, 6 Steven Burton, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Fraser McKenzie, 3 Joe Stafford, 2 Adrian Duncan, 1 Gary Strain
Replacements: 16 Niall Shannon, 17 Lewis
Niven, 18 Neale Patrick, 19 Lewis Calder, 20 Ross Samson, 21 Jamie Murray, 22 Tom Bury
New Zealand vs Tonga, 48-9
New Zealand lived up to their billing as the pre-tournament favourites at the IRB Junior World Championship 2008 as they got off to a flying start to the competition with a comfortable victory over Tonga at the Cardiff Arms Park.
The sides though had been separated only by a single point – 10-9 – at half-time, but New Zealand’s final surge gave them a convincing win over a steely Tongan outfit in the opening Pool A encounter.
Tonga did get off to a good start to the game with a first minute penalty from their full back Sione Toke giving them an early lead, but New Zealand looked the most dangerous in attack in the opening exchanges.
New Zealand saw their fine attacking play rewarded after 15 minutes when they touched down their first try in the corner through Joe Hill, but the tough-tackling Tongans then took a 9-7 lead with two further penalties from Toke.
However New Zealand, featuring several players from last season’s IRB Under 19 World Championship-winning team, crept ahead again just before the break with a penalty of their own from flyhalf Daniel Kirkpatrick.
The young New Zealand stars began the second half strongly with wing Hill scoring his second try early on after some impressive build up involving powerhouse number 8 Matt Luamanu, who along with man of the match Peter Saili had a significant influence on the game’s outcome.
Two further tries in quick succession minutes later through Saili and centre Jackson Willison put New Zealand in the driving seat as they began dominate completely.
Tonga had chances in attack but errors at crucial times, coupled with a sturdy New Zealand rearguard, meant they could find no way through as their opponents opened the floodgates with full back Zac Guildford, prop Paea Fa’anunu and wing Andre Taylor crossing for tries before the final whistle.
New Zealand captain Chris Smith said afterwards: "It’s always nice to get a good win. Tonga provided a really good opposition for us in that first half, but it showed us that we’ve got a lot of things to work on and by no means are we the completed product.
"Tonga played really well in that first half but to our credit we wore them down and played some good rugby in the second half so we are happy but there are things we need to work on."
Tonga coach Fe'ao Vakata said: "We had a good first half but in the second half we lost our concentration and we made mistakes especially in defence and in the lineout. New Zealand were brilliant in the lineout and something that we will be looking is our forwards’ work rates. We also made mistakes in defence out wide which we will be working on."
Scorers:
For New Zealand:
Tries: Hill 2,
Saili, Guildford, Fa'anunu, Taylor
Cons: Kirkpatrick 2, Renata 3
Pen: Kirkpatrick
For Tonga:
Pens: Toke 3
Teams:
New Zealand: 15 Zac Guildford, 14 Joe Hill, 13 Michael Harris, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Andre Taylor, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Matt Luamanu, 7 Hugh Reed, 6 Peter Saili, 5 Josh Townsend, 4 Chris Smith (captain), 3 Toby Smith, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Paea Fa'anunu,
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Sam Whitelock, 18 Ben Afeaki, 19 Luke Braid, 20 Grayson Hart, 21 Trent Renata, 22 Ryan Crotty
Tonga: 15 Sione Toke, 14 Mateo Malupo, 13 William Takai, 12 Charles Mateo, 11 Salesi Sete, 10 Richard Kaufusi (captain), 9 Mahe Fangupo, 8 Inoke Taufa, 7 Paula Kata, 6 Constantin Kauvaka, 5 Finau Tupa, 4 Sotele Hehea, 3 Maleko Latu, 2 Tone Tukufuka, 1 Mosa'ati Afu
Replacements: 16 Lepaola Taueli 17 Lonely Kengike, 18 Tevita Tangi, 19 Haloti
Molitika, 20 Samiuela Vea, 21 Sekope Maea, 22 Alfred Hausia
Wales vs Italy, 29-10
Wales kicked off their campaign at the IRB Junior World Championship with a workmanlike 29-10 victory over Italy in Pool D at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea on Friday.
But just as France had struggled for periods of their game against Japan earlier in the day, so Wales took their time in finding a formula to dismiss the young Italians.
It took the hosts a dozen minutes to settle, but once they did they scored from their very first attack of note. Galloping second Haydn Pugh breaking through two flimsy tackles and feeding number 8 and captain Sam Warburton for a try that Dan Biggar converted.
Wales dominated all areas of the contest after that, but careless handling in the Italian 22 cost second row Jevon Groves and wing Leigh Halfpenny certain tries.
However the hard work of the front five was certainly taking its toll on the Azzurri and when Italy killed decent Welsh ball deep inside their own half, Biggar fooled everyone by taking a tap penalty and combining with fellow Osprey Gareth Owen to send in Jonathan Davies at the corner.
A penalty from Italy flyhalf Riccardo Bocchino after 35 minutes reduced the arrears to nine points and that was how it stayed until the interval. Having secured so much ball in the opening 40 minutes and having dominated territorially, the hosts were understandably frustrated by their modest lead.
That advantage was cut by a further five points three minutes into the second half when wing Andrea Bacchetti took advantage of a bobbling ball in the Wales 22 to cross in the corner.
Bocchino converted to leave Italy trailing only 12-10 before Biggar redressed the balance with a penalty after 53 minutes. The flyhalf struck an upright with a penalty after 66 minutes, but Owen brought some relief two minutes later when he waltzed through the Italian midfield for a try which Biggar converted.
Biggar’s try a minute after the Italian restart put the game beyond Italy and Halfpenny’s conversion made it 29-10. That was how it remained with Wales happy, if not overjoyed, with a first night victory.
Wales captain Sam Warburton said: "I think we were eager to play the game and to show people how we can play. It meant that we tried to force things a little too early at times and to be honest, they must take some credit for the manner in which they defended. I think we will benefit greatly fromhaving got a game under our belt and now we can look forward to Japan."
Italy captain Alberto Chiesa said: "The team played well in phases, but as my coach has said, you cannot make as many errors as we did and expect to win. We understand where and why we made those errors so now we have to cut them out. Still, we fought to the bitter end and that is good for my
team."
Scorers:
For Wales:
Tries: Warburton, Davies, Owen, Biggar
Cons: Biggar 2, Halfpenny
Pen: Biggar
For Italy:
Try: Bacchetti
Con: Bocchino
Pen: Bocchino
Teams:
Wales: 15 Daniel Evans, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Gareth Owen, 11 Jimmy Norris, 10 Daniel Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Sam Warburton (captain), 7 Dan Franks, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Jevon Groves, 4 Haydn Pugh, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Rhys Lawrence, 1 Ryan Bevington
Replacements: 16 Ryan Prosser, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Ashley Sweet, 19 Lloyd Phillips, 20 Jason Tovey, 21 Gareth Williams, 22 Luke Ford
Italy: 15 Andrea Pratichetti, 14 Andrea Bacchetti, 13 Roberto Quartaroli, 12 Alberto Chiesa (captain), 11 Edoardo Rotella, 10 Riccardo Bocchino, 9 Carlo Vannini, 8 Luca Petillo, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Filippo Giusti, 5 Alberto Cazzola, 4 Emiliano
Caffin,i 3 Massimiliano Ravalle, 2 Tommaso D'Apice, 1 Andrea De Marchi
Replacements: 16 Otis Lombardi, 17 Luca Zara, 18 Lorenzo Sebastiani, 19 Joshua Furno, 20 Rudolph Mernone, 21 Giovanni Massaro, 22 Alessandro Castagnoli
Australia vs Canada, 81-12
Australia laid down an impressive marker for the rest of the IRB Junior World Championship as they overwhelmed a plucky Canadian team 81-12 on a cool, dry afternoon at Rodney Parade in Newport on Friday.
The win was based on a significant power advantage up front with Canada simply unable to regularly secure their own possession and backed up by slick hands and pace across the backline.
The game was effectively over as a contest in the first quarter with Australia, led from the front by their impressive skipper David Pocock, already having run in four converted tries – through Pocock, Ben McCalman, Rob Horne and James Hanson – despite some valiant Canadian defence.
Canadian heads never dropped, however, and they enjoyed a good spell on the half hour with scrumhalf Sean White prominent and their reward was a try for centre Matt Evans.
However, the Australians put their collective foot straight back onto the gas and ran in two more tries through Ratu Nasiganiyavi and Dane Haylett-Petty before the break for a 45-5 lead at half-time.
A number of half-time replacements affected the cohesion of the Australian play for a while yet they opened the second half with two more tries in the first 10 minutes through McCalman and Nasiganiyavi before the ever willing White responded as he wriggled over from a quick tap penalty.
Despite the number of tackles they had made throughout the game, the Canadians refused to wilt until four late tries – including a double from replacement Junior Sovala Futi – completed the job for Australia.
Australian wing Nasiganiyavi caught the eye with his two well taken long tries and generally looked menacing every time he gained possession, while full back Haylett-Petty weighed in with four tries.
Australia captain David Pocock: “It’s the first game in a while that we’ve all played together so it was a good first hit out. There were plenty of positives, we scored plenty of tries but there’s plenty to work on in the next few days.”
Canada captain Nathan Hirayama: “We came out a bit flat and started slowly and you can’t afford to do that against a team of this calibre. We know now that we can play at this level but we can’t afford any loss of intensity because you get punished ruthlessly.”
Scorers:
For Australia:
Tries: Pocock, McCalman 2, Horne, Hanson, Haylett-Petty 3, Nasiganiyavi 2, Futi
Cons: Cooper 5, Sua 3
For Canada:
Tries: Evans, White
Con:
Hirayama
Australia: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Blair Connor, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Ratu Nasiganiyavi, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock (captain), 6 Tom Murday, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Daniel Palmer, 2 James Hanson, 1 Tetera Faulkner,
Replacements: 16 Nathan Charles, 17 Albert Anae, 18 Ben Daley, 19 Seilala Lam, 20 Jeremy Sua, 21 Richard Kingi, 22 Junior Sovala Futi
Canada: 15 Harry Jones, 14 Tyrone Shannon, 13 Michael Scholz, 12 Matt Evans, 11 Jordan Wilson-Ross, 10 Nathan Hirayama (captain), 9 Sean White, 8 Seb Pearson, 7 Keegan Selby, 6 Thyssen de Goede, 5 Joshua Schlebach, 4 Michael Berg, 3 Andrew Tiedemann, 2 Ryan Hamilton, 1 Russell Ward
Replacements: 16 Russel Meidinger, 17 Justin Chelak, 18 Antoni Wodzicki, 19 Ian Manly, 20 Jamie Mackenzie, 21 Peter Jawl, 22 Conor Trainor
France vs Japan, 53-17
France kicked off their Pool D campaign at the IRB Junior World Championship with a convincing victory over a plucky Japanese side at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea on Friday.
However, they were made to work hard for maximum points at times as the young Cherry Blossoms defied their seeding to make a decent fist of things in the first half.
France took the lead inside two minutes courtesy of a converted try from wing Guillaume Namy and within five minutes of that opening score, Morgan Parra’s side had doubled their advantage thanks to opposite wing Benjamin Fall’s first of the competition.
However, before the game was a dozen minutes old, Japan had struck back with a try from hooker Ryuhei Arita after a driving lineout deep inside the French 22.
That score, somewhat against the run of play, certainly buoyed the Japanese and after France had given up an opportunity to score following a wonderful drive from Raphael Lakafia, the underdogs raced the length of the field for Arita to score his second of the match.
Ryohei Yamanaka converted from the touchline to reduce the arrears to two points, but a penalty from flyhalf Mathieu Belie put France 17-12 to the good after 24 minutes.
One score separated the sides until No.8 Lakafia added his side’s third try three minutes before the interval.
The same player added his second two minutes into the second half from a driving lineout and when Fall outpaced the Japanese defence 90 seconds later for his second of the game, France were home and dry.
To their credit, Japan never allowed their heads to drop and even after Lakafia claimed his hat-trick with a pushover try after 56 minutes, Arita struck with his third of the game following yet another well-driven lineout.
Henry Chavancy bagged try number seven with 10 minutes remaining and Thierry Lacrampe rounded off matters with number eight in the 79th minute.
France captain Morgan Parra said: “We had a very good start and maybe we lost ourselves for a while after that. Still, I am not going to complain about eight tries and a win of this nature. Winning like that was good for us. I would also like to applaud the Japanese who made things difficult for us.”
Japan captain Michael Leitch said: “Of course we are disappointed with the final result, but there were areas that pleased us greatly. We did not get blown away at the rucks and mauls and we scored three tries. We can be positive now and go away and work on certain areas before our next game against Wales."
Scorers:
For France:
Tries: Namy, Fall, Lakafia 3, Chavancy, Lacrampe
Cons: Belie 5
Pen: Belie
For Japan:
Tries: Arita 3
Con: Yamanaka
Teams:
France: 15 Julien Dumora, 14 Benjamin Fall, 13 Yann David, 12 Mathieu Bastareaud, 11 Guillaume Namy, 10 Mathieu Belie,
9 Morgan Parra (captain), 8 Raphael Lakafia, 7 Louis Madaule, 6 Jeremy Braille, 5 Adam Jaulhac, 4 Yoann Maestri, 3 Kevin Kervarec, 2 Clement Maynadier, 1 Nicolas Agnesi
Replacement: 16 Marc Antoine Rallier, 17 Clement Ric, 18 Jean Baptiste Roidot, 19 Wencelas Lauret, 20 Thierry Lacrampe, 21 Alexandre Dumoulin, 22 Henry Chavancy
Japan: 15 Tsuyoshi Iguchi, 14 Daisuke Natsui, 13 Yasutaka Sasakura, 12 Aisea Havea, 11 Kanzo Nakahama, 10 Ryohei Yamanaka, 9 Mizuki Yanagihara, 8 Michael Leitch (captain), 7 Hiroaki Sugimoto, 6 Tsuyoshi Murata, 5 Eiri Nakada, 4 Pohiva Lotoahea, 3 Shinsuke Ono, 2 Ryuhei Arita, 1 Masataka Mikami
Replacements: 16 Koichi Nitta, 17 Motoki Yamazaki, 18 Keiichi Tanaka, 19 Takaya Kato, 20 Shuhei Oshima, 21 Takamasa Okubo, 22 Katsuyuki Sakai
Thanks to SARU, the RFU and the IRB.
