Wet weather made for tough conditions as Junior Springboks and New Zealand U20s drew 13-13 on the Sunshine Coast.
The Junior Springboks and New Zealand played out to an exciting 13-13 draw in their U20 Rugby Championship opener in very difficult conditions in the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Australia on Thursday.
The match was played in very wet and windy conditions, with a heavy downpour before the game creating puddles of water all over the field. The swirling wind, mostly in the South Africans' faces in the first half, further complicated matters.
The wet conditions made handling difficult and the Junior Boks struggled at the breakdowns, but they were very strong on defence and carried the ball strongly. Stuck in their own half for most of the opening stanza, the SA U20s only had one attacking opportunity, but could not make it count.
New Zealand enjoyed territorial advantage in the first half, and a penalty goal on the half-hour mark by Isaac Hutchison (fullback) was the only points of the half, as the Kiwis hit the sheds leading by 3-0.
The game opened up in the second half when New Zealand stretched their lead to 8-0 as Stanley Solomon (wing) went over in the left corner from an attacking scrum in the 50th minute.
The Junior Boks knuckled down though and Tylor Sefoor (flyhalf) landed his first penalty goal just before the hour-mark to make it 8-3.
Moments later, the Junior Boks pounced with Joel Leotlela (wing) going over next to the posts after great work done by Bruce Sherwood (centre) as the SA U20s capitalised on a mistake under a kick by New Zealand.
After Sefoor's conversion and a second penalty goal four minutes later, following a massive scrum, the Junior Boks were suddenly leading by 13-8, and it could have been more had the SA U20 flyhalf not missed another attempt at a penalty.
With seven minutes to go, JF van Heerden (replacement lock) was yellow carded and a few minutes later, New Zealand scored their second try when Frank Vaenuku (wing) went over in the right hand corner, but the wind pushed the conversion wide to make it 13-13, which is how it ended shortly thereafter.
Junior Springboks 13 [Try: Joel Leotlela; Conversion: Tylor Sefoor; Penalty goals: Sefoor 2] New Zealand U20 13 [Tries: Stanley Solomon, Frank Vaenuku; Penalty goal: Isaac Hutchison]
Referee: Jordan Kaminsky [AUS]
Junior Springboks: 15 Michail Damon, 14 Joel Leotlela, 13 Jurenzo Julius (vice-captain), 12 Bruce Sherwood
11 Litelihle Bester, 10 Tylor Sefoor, 9 Asad Moos, 8 Tiaan Jacobs , 7 Bathobele Hlekani, 6 Sibabalwe Mahashe, 5 Adam de Waal, 4 Thomas Dyer, 3 Zachary Porthen (captain), 2 Juan Smal, 1 Ruan Swart
Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Mbasa Maqubela, 18 Reno Hirst, 19 JF van Heerden (vice-captain), 20 Thabang Mphafi, 21 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 22 Thurlon Williams, 23 Joshua Boulle.
New Zealand U20: 1: Will Martin (Chiefs, Waikato), 2: Vernon Bason (Hurricanes, Manawatū) (c), 3: Joshua Smith (Hurricanes, Hawke’s Bay), 4: Tom Allen (Hurricanes, Hawke’s Bay), 5: Liam Jack (Crusaders, Canterbury), 6: Andrew Smith (Chiefs, Waikato), 7: Johnny Lee (Crusaders, Canterbury), 8: Malachi Wrampling (Chiefs, Waikato), 9: Ben O’Donovan (Crusaders, Canterbury), 10: Cooper Grant (Crusaders, Tasman), 11: Stanley Solomon (Hurricanes, Wellington), 12: Xavi Taele (Blues, Auckland) (vc), 13: Aki Tuivailala (Chiefs, Waikato), 14: Frank Vaenuku (Chiefs, Bay of Plenty), 15: Isaac Hutchinson (Crusaders, Canterbury)
Replacements: 16: A-One Lolofie (Highlanders, Otago), 17: Senio Sanele (Hurricanes, Wellington), 18: Kurene Luamanuvae (Blues, Auckland), 19: Cam Christie (Blues, North Harbour), 20: Mosese Bason (Hurricanes, Manawatū), 21: Dylan Pledger (Highlanders, Otago), 22: Rico Simpson (Blues, Auckland), 23: Josh Whaanga (Highlanders, Otago)
