Junior Boks punish ill-disciplined Wallabies to seal U20 Rugby Championship title

The Junior Springboks made the Junior Wallabies pay for an ill-disciplined display that saw them shown three yellow cards in the first 40 minutes of their round-two clash in the U20 Rugby Championship at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Sunday afternoon.

Kevin Foote’s SA Under-20 side, who had already beaten Los Pumitas in the opening round at the same venue, secured a bonus-point 49-17 victory to wrap up the title with one round to spare.

Australia U20, meanwhile, were once again left ruing what might have been had they managed to keep 15 players on the field, despite flashes of attacking brilliance.

The Junior Springboks struck first, with right wing Jack Benade racing down the touchline to score in the corner after slick build-up play. It was the elusive back’s fourth try in two matches.

Flanker Wasi Vyambwera then powered over for SA’s second after Wallaby centre Leo Jaques was shown yellow for head contact in the tackle. The visitors were soon reduced to 13 players after collapsing a driving maul near their tryline, resulting in the first of two penalty tries for the hosts in the 25th minute, with Isaac Fanua also sent to the sin-bin.

Australia hit back through flyhalf Finn Mackay in the 31st minute, but a second penalty try followed after Taione Taka’s deliberate knockdown in the corner denied the Junior Boks a clear scoring chance. Still, the visitors showed resilience, with Riley Whitfield cutting the deficit to 28-12 with a well-taken try in the 36th minute.

The Gqeberha crowd erupted early in the second half when powerful inside centre Ethan Adams stepped his way over for SA’s fifth try in the 52nd minute – his third in two matches. Scrumhalf Hendre Schoeman then added another with a sniping run to stretch the lead to 42-12, while flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed impressed with four conversions.

Taka made amends for his earlier yellow card by finishing in the corner for Australia’s third try, but flanker Luke Cannon responded swiftly for South Africa from a driving maul. Ahmed, shifting to centre, then sliced through the defence to cap a dominant performance.

Argentina’s shock 25-17 victory over the Junior All Blacks earlier in the day confirmed South Africa as champions ahead of their final match against New Zealand next weekend.

SCORES
Junior Boks 56 (28)
Tries: Benade, Vyambwera, penalty try (2), Adams, Schoeman, Cannon, Ahmed.  Conversions: Ahmed  (4), Moyo (2).

Junior Wallabies 17 (12)
Tries: Mackay. Whitfield, Taka.  Conversion: Mackay