IRB U19 Championship - Pool A, Round 1 Results
Pool A of the International Rugby Board's Under-19 World Championship was played in sunny Belfast on Thursday.
The match information and reports are provided by the IRB.
South Africa v Fiji, 17-5
Fiji's players were denied a dream debut in Division A at the IRB Under-19 World Championship 2007 by a strong and well organised South African team who were out to prove that their eighth place finish in 2006 was an aberration.
From the start South Africa took the game to Fiji but found their defence in fine form, denying them a scoring opportunity for the first fifteen minutes.
When a penalty was eventually conceded the Springboks opted to kick to touch and secure a lineout on the five metre line. The pack drove over prop Corne Fourie to claim the opening try.
South Africa were dominating territory, whilst Fiji made only rare forays into South Africa's half and conceded penalties in their quest to deny South Africa any further scoring opportunities.
Their efforts were in vain as flank Johan van Deventer was next to get his name on the score sheet when the pack once more mauled their way over. Centre Stefan Watermeyer added two more points with the conversion.
Having opened their account the South African back division demonstrated their skills by spreading possession wide for full back Wilton Pietersen to grab his first try of the match.
As the interval approached Fiji came into the game more by running the ball wide every time they had possession.
Their reward finally came when flank Jese Cirikisuva rounded the opposition to score Fiji's only points of the match, their first ever in Division A.
In the second half South Africa were again the first to score but Fiji battled hard, tackling with determination but unable to stop Wilton Peterson creating space and running in his second and South Africa's fourth try.
Stefan Watermayer completed a personal haul of 14 points, when firstly he created an overlap and ran in unopposed and then breaking through a tackle to complete his brace,.
Warermayer converted one, with flyhalf Francois Brummer adding the final two points of the match.
The South Africa captain Gerrit van Veize said: "We did not start well - getting some of the basics wrong. The first line-out went astray but that was because we were being over eager. We need to improve on the first phase attacks. We scrummaged well on their ball but not so well on our own."
South African coach Eric Sauls said: "We were pleased to limit Fiji to just five points. We pride ourselves on our defence. It's a thing we have worked hard on but conceding a try proves that we still have work to do."
Scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: Fourie, Van Deventer, Pietersen
Con: Watermeyer
For Fiji:
Try: Cirikisuva
Squads:
South Africa: 15 Wilton Pietersen, 14 Vainon Willis, 13 Stephan Dippenaar, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Aubrey McDonald, 10 Francois Brummer,9 Marlin Ruiters, 8 Gerrit van Velze (captain), 7 Johan van Deventer, 6 Thiliphaut Marole, 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Frederick Kirsten, 2 Henri Bantjes , 1 Corne Fourie
Replacements (from): 16 Pieter Janse Van Vuuren,17 Jean-Jacques Rossouw, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Berend Botha, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Earl-Jivan Snyman, 23 Mlindazwe Nqoro, 24 Bernado Botha, 25 Tshepo Masuga, 26 Sobelo Nhlapo
Fiji: 15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Isikeli Vuruna, 13 Seremaia Tagicakibau, 12 Seru Baleinatauba, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Ratu Natubavivi Kasami, 9 Vuga Tagicakibau, 8 Waqabaca Kotobalavu, 7 Jese Cirikisuva, 6 John Vugakoto (captain), 5 Tevita Tuiloa, 4 Temo Vakaloloma, 3 Jack Lalai, 2 Saula Qalomai, 1 Serpepeli Qaranivalu
Replacements (from): 16 Peni Kilibau, 17 Josese Bolabasaga Niutini, 18 Samuela Vunisa, 19 Uraia Vecenadavui, 20 Peni Rokodiva, 21 Tevita Taga, 22 Setoki Butukoro, 23 William Saukuru, 24 Manoa Driu, 25 Mesake Sotiakivanuayawa, 26 Rakuita Vakalalabure
Referee: Dean Richards (England)
Touch judges: Alan Falzone (Italy), Kyosuke Toda (Japan)
New Zealand vs Wales, 37-14
With the sun shining and the inspirational haka bellowing around Ravenhill it was a clearly going to be a tough test for Wales in their opening Division A match with New Zealand at the IRB Under-19 World Championship on Thursday 5 April.
The Baby Blacks were in a buoyant mood and at times were too good for Wales as they ran out 37-14 winners, an almost identical score to New Zealand's 38-14 defeat of the same side when they met on the opening Division A match day in last year's tournament in Dubai.
The first half belonged to New Zealand centre Robert Fruean, who claimed an impressive hat-trick as the 2006 finalists dominated the early stages of the game with flyhalf Trent Renata probing the Welsh defence with tactical kicking.
This was rewarded with the second row partnership of captain Chris Smith and Samuel Whitelock winning great line-out ball. This possession resulted in the Baby Blacks muscling over for a try after four minutes when Fruean crashed over for his first of three scores.
Six minutes later Fruean burst through the Welsh centres to claim his second with Renata's conversion stretching New Zealand's advantage to 12-0. The physical centre went on to complete his hat-trick after only 13 minutes when he fielded a perfect cross field kick from Renata.
The Welsh began to show their character at 17-0 down and rallied around their captain Sam Warburton. They built upon good scrum ball and attacking play from scrumhalf Rhys Webb to come close to the Baby Blacks' line with wing Jimmy Norris almost reducing the points deficit.
New Zealand lost their way a little when their talisman Fruean was sin-binned for a professional foul after 24 minutes and Wales flyhalf Gareth Owen pounced on a spilt ball from his opposite number to race under the posts, giving his side a lifeline before half time with wing Leigh Halfpenny kicking the conversion.
Renata kicked a penalty for the Baby Blacks before the whistle to give his side a 17-7 half time lead, but Wales then came out for the second half with a little more adventure in their game and this caused the New Zealand defence a few problems.
Against the run of play in the second half, New Zealand flyer Kade Poki scored a superb team try in the corner, Renata's conversion attempt coming back off the posts to leave the score at 25-7.
The biggest cheer of the night however was reserved for the Welsh loosehead prop Ryan Bevington when he raced clear of the chasing New Zealand defence to score a terrific try in the corner. The difficult conversion was converted by Halfpenny giving Wales hope at 27-14.
But as the teams began to ring the chances as the half progressed, New Zealand made certain of victory with replacement fly half Daniel Kirkpatrick making a notable impact by putting Ryan Crotty under the posts for a try.
Kirkpatrick then followed up with a sublime cross field kick, resulting in a try for his fellow replacement Luke Braid. He then kicked the conversion to give New Zealand victory in an entertaining game of rugby at the home of Ulster rugby.
Afterwards New Zealand captain Chris Smith said: "We are overall pleased with this start. We had structures that we wanted to put in place and I felt we achieved this. However a loss of concentration slipped into our game at times and we will have to improve on this."
Scorers:
For New Zea;land:
Tries: Fruean 3, Poki, Crotty, Braid
Cons: Renata, Kirkpatrick
Pen: Renata
For Wales:
Tries: Owen, Bevington
Cons: Halfpenny, Evans
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Zach Guildford, 13 Robert Fruean, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Kade Poki, 10 Trent Renata, 9 Wayne Ngaluafe, 8 Liukanasi Manu, 7 John Hardie, 6 Peter Saili, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Chris Smith (captain), 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Quentin MacDonald, 1 Rodney Ah You
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Paea Fa'anunu, 18 Nicholas Barrett, 20 Luke Braid, 21 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 22 Winston Stanley
Wales: 15 Daniel Evans, 14 Jimmy Norris, 13 Luke Ford, 12 Rhys Williams, 11 Leigh Halfpenny, 10 Gareth Owen, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Lloyd Phillips, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Sam Warburton (captain), 5 Josh Turnbull, 4 Nathan White, 3 Patrick Palmer, 2 Huw Dowden, 1 Ryan Bevington
Replacements: 16 Ben Roberts, 17 Lloyd Elliott, 18 Phil Price, 19 Jevon Groves, 20 Gareth Williams, 21 David Langdon, 22 James Egan
Referee: Julian Pritchard (Australia)
Touch judges: Joao Mourinha (Portugal), Sarah Corrigan (Australia)
Argentina vs Japan, 41-8
Argentina defeated Japan in a match in which both sides demonstrated good play in both the forwards and backs in the IRB Under-19 World Championship 2007 at Shaw's Bridge.
It was the Argentinians though, recently crowned South American Under-19 champions, who proved too strong.
The best of the opening exchanges went to the South Americans as scrum half Martin Landajo kept his team advancing with a number of dangerous kicks. Japan's scrumhalf Tappei Higashide though was causing continual problems, using his pace to exploit a poorly defended blindside.
Argentina opened the scoring after a neat miss move in the midfield which created an overlap that allowed wing Diego Palma to touch down in the corner. The try went unconverted.
A second Argentine try soon followed. After yet another break from Higashide, Japanese wing Naoko Chono ran infield in search of support but found only the back tracking Argentine pack who forced a knock-on. After successive forward drives the ball was eventually spun wide where the open side flank Guido Lofiego collected his own kick and crossed for a try.
On the stroke of half-time good Japanese forward discipline inside the 22 was rewarded with a penalty. The easy points were declined in favour of a line-out, from which Higashida took the ball on the short side and off-loaded to inside centre Yasutaka Sasakura, who ran in Japan's opening points leaving the half-time score in the balance at 10-5.
The second period began evenly and remained that way until Argentina were able to make use of an overlap after good patience at the breakdown and Ignacio Poet Belmonte was able to cross the line.
Argentina's captain and fullback Belisario Agulla showed his class when he crossed the line for a converted try, before Martin Landajo, Juan Pablo Socino and Manuel Trebucq added further tries, with Belmonte kicking another conversion as Argentina broke clear from Japan.
Despite a late penalty kick from Takaya Iida for Japan, Argentina ran out comfortable winners.
Afterwards Japan's captain Tappei Higashide said: "We are disappointed with the loss but for the next game (New Zealand) we will work on our lower tackling."
Argentina's vice-captain Martin Landajo said: "Nerves got the better of us in the first half but in the second we showed some of what we can do."
Scorers:
For Argentiona:
Tries: Palma, Lofiego, Belmonte, Agulla, Landajo, Socino, Trebucq
Cons: Belmonte 3
For Japan:
Try: Sasakura
Pen: Iida
Teams:
Argentina: 15 Belisario Agulla (captain) 14 Ignacio Poet Belmonte 13 Juan Pablo Socino 12 Juan Mangione 11 Diego Palma 10 Matias Thomas 9 Martin Landajo 8 Marcos Insua 7 Guido Lofiego 6 Cristian Etchart 5 Anibal Panceyra Garrido 4 Jorge Hill Basilio 3 Facundo Corimayo 2 Roberto Tejerizo 1 Juan Figallo
Replacements: 16 Ignacio di Santi 17 Jeronimo Negroto 18 Francisco Panessi 19 Guillermo Roan 20 Nicolas Andres, 21 Lisandro Ahaulli de Chazal
Japan: 15 Ryo Morita, 14 Takamasa Okubo, 13 Jamie Blackie, 12 Yasutaka Sasakura, 11 Naoki Chono, 10 Takaya Iida, 9 Tappei Higashide, 8 Shohei Maekawa, 7 Choong Woo Han, 6 Hiraoki Sugimoto, 5 Norimasa Kuribayashi, 4 Keisuke Masuda, 3 Koichi Nitta, 2 Ryosuke Inoue, 1 Masataka Mikami
Replacements: 16 Futoshi Mori, 17 Masaru Furutate, 18 Masahiko Nakagawa, 19 Jumpei Ohira, 20 Keisuke Masuda, 21 Naoki Katchi, 22 Yuichiro Ogihara
Referee: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Touch judges: James Bolabiu (Fiji), Laifaga Unasa (Samoa)
France vs Scotland, 11-6
Scotland and France fought out a low-scoring but exciting encounter in their opening match at the IRB Under-19 World Championship 2007. Both sides were willing to play open running rugby but their defences held the upper hand in the match at Belfast Harlequins.
With the game only a few minutes old France was awarded a penalty which fullback Mathieu Belie hit accurately between the uprights to take the lead.
With the teams creating numerous openings it seemed that both sides would score tries, but all too often the final pass went astray or was mis-handled, whilst the defences stood firm.
Scotland drew level when France was penalized for off-side and centre Stephen McColl leveled the scores, making it 3 -3 at half time.
In the second period both teams began playing open rugby, with France pressing the try-line after magnificent handling in the back division allowed them to speed into the twenty-two.
Despite the open play it was another penalty that opened the scoring in the second half. Scotland took the lead with their second penalty from McColl's boot, before France drew level courtesy of a Belie penalty.
France then grabbed the lead when strong running and quick hands worked the ball to No.8 Raphael Lakafia who powered over to move them ahead by five points, after Belie missed the conversion.
The five-point advantage was sufficient to give France victory, although Scotland repeatedly attacked the French defence in the last seconds and were unfortunate not to make the vital breakthrough.
Afterwards Scotland captain Fraser McKenzie said: "This was a fantastic game against one of the best sides in the world. We played some entertaining rugby and should have scored at least one try. The team is disappointed to come out on the losing side but we can take away a lot of good things from the game."
Scotland coach Peter Wright said: "We were disappointed but have another opportunity in four days when we take on Ireland. We created many chances but the finishing was not up to our normal standard.
"This tournament provides the future stars of international rugby with a great platform to show their skills. They will all benefit from playing against some of the best Under-19 players in the world."
France coach Jean-Marc Bederede said: "The Scotland side played well, they denied us a lot of possession especially in the lineout. We will need to improve that aspect of our pay before we tackle South Africa. We have a number of players new to the squad and they all performed well."
France captain Morgan Parra said: "That was a good open game of rugby. Scotland did not let us play as we would have wanted to. They are a good side and I am happy that we were able to come away with the win."
Scorers:
For Scotland:
Pens: McColl 2
For France:
Try:Lakafia
Pens: Belie
Teams:
Scotland: 15 Harry Duthie, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Chris Kinloch, 12 Stephen McColl, 11 Tom Bury, 10 Ruairidh Jackson, 9 Ross Samson, 8 Alexandre Wukovits, 7 Kevin Bryce, 6 Fraser McKenzie (captain), 5 Josh Brown, 4 Neale Patrick, 3 Joe Stafford, 2 Adrian Duncan, 1 Gary Strain
Replacements (from): 16 Ralph McInally, 17 Angus Dixon, 18 Lewis Niven, 19 Craig Charters, 20 Steven Burton, 21 Mathew Heeks, 22 James Murray, 23 Ruairidh Bonner, 24 Craig Simmonds, 25 Murray Allan, 26 Jonny Smart
France: 15 Mathieu Belie, 14 Djibril Camara, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Charles Gimenez, 11 Khaled Zagar, 10 Morgan Parra (captain),9 Adrien Tomas, 8 Raphael Lakafia, 7 Arthur Chollon, 6 Yohan Vivalda, 5 Adam Jaulhac, 4 Yoann Maestri, 3 Nicolas Agnesi, 2 Jordan Merle, 1 Raphael Olive
Replacements (from): 16 Antonin Raffault, 17 Erwann Iapteff, 18 Arthur Joly, 19 Antoine Loubiere, 20 Wesley Fofana, 21 Laurent Thuery, 22 Maxime Machenaud, 23 Cedric Coll, 24 Yann David, 25 Jean Roidot, 26 Erwan Berot
Referee: Matt Stanish (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Phil Smith (Canada), Richard Kerr (Ireland)
Australia vs Ireland, 15-10
Australia overcome a sluggish start to beat a courageous and spirited Ireland side 15-10 at Ravenhill to get their defence of the IRB Under-19 World Championship crown off to a winning start on Thursday 5 April.
There was an electric atmosphere when the host nation side ran out on to the pitch to be greeted by a crowd of 6,715 and, with 'Ireland's Call' still ringing in their ears, they started the game in a positive fashion.
The physical attitude of the Irish pack rocked the champions back in the early exchanges with Ireland's tactics of the driving maul really exposing a much larger Australian pack, although the scrambled defence of the Australians prevented the Irish from gaining the points they deserved.
There were some nerves evident in the southern hemisphere side, however their physicality at the tackle was enough to keep the Irish at bay. Ireland had numerous attempts at getting those first points, but individual errors at crucial times let them down.
Ireland eventually turned this period of good play into points by using a cross-field kick, which wing Niall Morris gathered and touched down. The try went unconverted and with Ireland hoping to add to this score Australia were forced to defend resolutely.
This defence spilled over to ill-discipline at times, resulting in referee James Jones sin-binning scrumhalf Jeremy Su'a and only minutes later he sent off No.8 Michael Uoka to reduce Australia to 13 men.
But Ireland couldn't make their numerical advantage count and had to settle for a 5-0 advantage at half time over the defending champions. Ireland then had a player of their own sin-binned early in the second half in second row Brian Cawley.
Australia came out all guns blazing after the break, despite having 14 men on the field, and impressive performances from captain Brett Gillespie and the forward pack, especially Sam Wykes, subdued the vocal home crowd.
The defending champions took the lead through a try by wing Andrew Barrett, which was converted by Rowan Kellam. Barrett then claimed a second in the corner after sustained pressure on the Irish line and some enterprising back play.
Ireland coach Charlie McAleese sent on a clutch of replacements and they, together with the crowd, rejuvenated the side and they enjoyed a period of pressure before being rewarded when Adam Sherry crashed over with the help from his forwards for the try to cut the deficit to 12-10.
Eion O'Malley's conversion dropped agonisingly short for the home crowd and Australia made certain of victory with a penalty by Kellam, leaving an Ireland side led by inspirational captain Paul Ryan to reflect on a bonus point and a performance appreciated by their loyal supporters.
Afterwards Australian coach Phil Mooney said: "It was a very difficult game, we knew what to expect from the Irish at the start, credit to them they played really well. It was a tough test for our players in such an enthralling atmosphere. My guys showed great character and we are delighted with the four points."
Australia captain Brett Gillespie said: "We were expecting a physical contest. This was a wake up call and we know what standard we have to play at from here forward."
Ireland coach Charlie McAleese said: "It was an electric atmosphere, which makes for a great tournament. We gave away size and experience to this side but testimony to Paul and his team where they stuck at it and got a bonus point.
Irish captain Paul Ryan said: "I am hugely disappointed but we have to take the positives into our next game against Scotland, where we hope to give the crowd more entertaining rugby."
Scorers:
For Australia:
Tries: Barrett 2
Con: Kellam
Pen: Kellam
For Ireland:
Tries: Morris, Craig
Teams:
Australia: 15 Peter Betham, 14 Alfi Mafi, 13 Rowan Kellam, 12 Brett Gillespie (captain), 11 Andrew Barrett, 10 Patrick McCabe, 9 Jeremy Su'a, 8 Michael Uoka, 7 Rodney Maa, 6 Ben McCalman, 5 Sam Wykes, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Daniel Palmer, 2 James Hanson, 1 Tetera Faulkner,
Replacements (from): 16 Daniel Penca, 17 Ben Daley, 18 Albert Anae, 19 Adam Campbell, 20 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 21 Chris Harkins, 22 Dan Robinson, 23 Jason Ryan, 24 Mitchell Inman, 25 Blair Connor, 26 John Grant
Ireland: 15 Adam Craig, 14 Niall Morris, 13 Eoin O'Malley, 12 Conor Cleary, 11 Paddy Brophy, 10 Scott Deasy, 9 Kris Greene, 8 Paul Ryan (captain), 7 Rajan Riley, 6 Kieran Essex, 5 Ian Nagle, 4 Brian Cawley, 3 Matthew Nelson, 2 Stephen Douglas,1 Paul Karayiannis
Replacements (from): 16 Michael Sherry, 17 Ian Leonard, 18 Patrick McCabe, 19 David Foley, 20 Patrick Mallon, 21 Jamie Smith, 22 Alan Gaughan, 23 Murray Kinsella, 24 Harry McAleese, 25 Tommy Seymour, 26 Jason Harris-Wright
Referee: James Jones (Wales)
Touch judges: Jerome Garces (France), Phillip Bosch (South Africa)
England vs Samoa, 20-12
Samoa started brightly in this Division A encounter at Shaw's Bridge, but it was England who got their IRB Under-19 World Championship 2007 campaign off to a winning start with a 20-12 victory on Thursday 5 April.
The penalty count was high for both sides, with Samoa missing their first attempt at goal from 55 metres out after England were caught diving into the ruck. England therefore were the first to open the scoring, fullback Alex Goode after the Samoans were also penalised for diving in.
Samoa hit back with two penalties of their own through Titi Jnr Esau and would have stretched their slender advantage but for two crucial knock-ons at the vital moment close to the England line.
They kept up the pressure on England though, culminating in a tussle on the touch-line which saw wing David Smith sent to the sin bin and Esau duly kicked his third penalty of the match to give the Samoans a 9-3 advantage.
Being down to 14 men seemed to spur the English players on and within minutes flyhalf Adam Greendale hit an angle outside his opposite number and offloaded to captain Hugo Ellis, who went over for a try converted by Goode.
Goode added his second penalty to send England into the break leading 13-9, an advantage cut to just one point five minutes into the second half when Esau kicked a penalty, awarded after a high tackle, and both sides then seemed to suffer with nerves as handling errors dominated proceedings.
The game turned as the Pacific Islanders were awarded a penalty under the posts which, instead of opting for three easy points, captain and scrum half Alatasi Tupou ran it, which eventually resulted in an England scrum.
From this scrum England pulled two scores clear with a try by Joe Simpson after 54 minutes, again converted by Goode, and held on for victory in a difficult encounter in which their back row of Matthew Cox, Ellis and Andrew Saull made the difference as Samoa's bright start faded.
Afterwards England captain Hugo Ellis said: "We were disappointed with the way we played in the first half, there were too many penalties and too much indiscipline. The boys dug in well in the second half and I think that shone through."
Samoa coach Mauia Vaapuu Vitale said: "We played a good game today but should have scored more points in the first half with the chances we had."
Samoa full back Titi Jnr Esau said: "I feel as though I was blessed to play in this tournament and I will enjoy my time here."
Scorers:
For Samoa:
Pens: Esau 4
For England:
Tries: Ellis, Simpson
Cons: Goode 2
Pens: Goode 2
Teams:
Samoa: 15 Titi Jnr Esau, 14 Faialaga Afamasaga, 13 Fualaga Pemita, 12 Peniamina Malaga, 11 Thretton Palamo, 10 Salevi Leota, 9 Alatasi Tupou (captain), 8 Solomona Ikoke, 7 Afa Aiono, 6 Richard Muagutitia, 5 Seti Tafua, 4 Maselino Paulino, 3 Kalem Chan Boon, 2 Atenai Aii, 1 Siaosi Iona
Replacements (from): 16 Siologa Leota, 17 Davidson Tavita, 18 Misioka Timoteo, 19 Faalemiga Selesele, 21 Tenina Sauileoge, 22 Jonathan Faletoese, 23 Tuavae Pati, 24 Anetelea Lalotoa, 25 David Masoe, 26 Rowley Tofa
England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 David Smith, 13 Tom Bedford, 12 Alex Tait, 11 Noah Cato, 10 Adam Greendale, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Hugo Ellis (captain), 7 Andrew Saull, 6 Matthew Cox, 5 Gregor Gillanders, 4 Scott Hobson, 3 Alex Corbisiero, 2 Joe Williams, 1 Nathan Catt
Replacements (from): 16 Scott Freer, 17 Billy Moss, 18 Jack Steadman, 19 Benjamin Thomas, 20 Daniel Pointon, 21 Richard Bolt, 22 Greg King, 23 Gareth Griffiths, 24 Garth Dew, 25 Miles Benjamin, 26 Jonathan Fisher
Referee: David Keane (Ireland)
Touch judges: Javier Mancuso (Argentina), Peter Ferguson (Ireland)