Baby Blacks and Baby Boks run wild
New Zealand and South Africa were the big winners at the U20 World Championship in Argentina on Wednesday.
New Zealand and South Africa were the big winners at the U20 World Championship in Argentina on Wednesday.
The baby blacks thrashed Samoa 77-7 while South Africa were equally merciless, hammering Scotland 73-0. Australia and England also grabbed impotant wins, while France endured a fightback to down the hosts and Wales cantered past Fiji.
Day two results:
New Zealand 77-7 Samoa
Wales 31-3 Fiji
England 36-21 Ireland
Argentina 23-31 France
Australia 67-5 Tonga
South Africa 73-0 Scotland
New Zealand 77-7 Samoa
Julian Savea scored a record-equalling four tries as New Zealand extended their unbeaten run to 12 matches in the IRB Junior World Championship with a 77-7 defeat of Samoa in their Pool A encounter at the Estadio CA Colon in Santa Fe.
The New Zealand Sevens star becomes the fourth player to score four tries in a single match, following in the footsteps of Australian trio Richard Kingi and Kurtley Beale against Canada in 2009 and Dane Haylett-Perry against the same opponents in 2008.
Savea scored his first try on the half hour mark to secure the bonus point for the two-time defending champions, but had to wait until the second half to enter his name into the Junior World Championship record books.
Samoa had actually had the opportunity to open the scoring in the sixth minute, only for fly half Karl Maleilegaoi to miss with his penalty attempt. This was the closest they came to scoring points until the 68th minute when second row Joshua Tyrell touched down.
The Baby Blacks dominated the game from start to finish, their solid defence ensuring that the open style of Samoa found no spaces to break through and New Zealand were quick at the breakdown, enabling them to recycle ball in a manner that hurt their opponents.
Captain Tyler Bleyendaal kicked two penalties in the opening quarter before second row Blade Thomson crossed for two tries in five minutes, sparking a scoring spree with wing Telusa Veainu and Savea although touching down.
Bleyendaal added his name to the try scorers with the conversion sending the Baby Blacks in with a 37-0 lead at half-time, their domination in the scrums and lineouts as well as the speed of their play making life hard for the Samoans.
Samoa never tired of trying, but New Zealand kept up the tempo and continued to use the width of the field with their back row of Ronald Raaymakers, Luke Whitelock and Rory Grice always first to the breakdown.
Savea had completed his hat-trick by the 50th minute, Bleyendaal converting both tries and adding the extras to hooker Paul Ngauamo's score to take his personal haul to 25 points before being replaced by Hayden Parker with less than 20 minutes to play.
The record-equalling fourth try for Savea came after Tyrell touched down for Samoa, rewarding his side's decision to kick for touch rather than take a penalty while trailing 56-0, with replacements Charlie Ngatai and Sam Prattley getting in on the scoring act as well.
Wales 31-3 Fiji
The accurate kicking of fly half Matthew Jarvis helped Wales keep their semi-final hopes alive with a 31-3 defeat of Fiji in Paraná.
The victory means Wales' final Pool A match against two-time champions New Zealand in Santa Fe on Sunday becomes a must-win match for Phil Davies' side, as they have fewer points then the second-placed sides in the two other pools.
Jarvis kicked 14 points in the match – four penalties and a conversion – before being given a well earned rest six minutes before Irish referee John Lacey blew the full-time whistle.
The decision by Welsh coach Davies to make 10 changes from the side that beat Samoa 22-13 on the opening day paid dividends early on with his re-energised charges quick to put their stamp on the game.
Jarvis was once again pulling the strings, helping Wales put the all-important first points on the board after slotting two penalties awarded following Fijian indiscretions at the breakdown.
Welsh centre Ben John ensured the pressure remained on the Pacific islanders by touching down the game's opening try in the 12th minute with Jarvis' conversion giving his side an 13-0 lead.
Another Jarvis penalty increased the advantage, before Fiji scored their only points of the game courtesy of fly half Josh Matavesi's penalty in the 20th minute. Wales, though, reasserted their advantage when number 8 Morgan Allen touched down minutes later.
Wales were unable to add to their 21-3 advantage in the remainder of the half and, although Jarvis kicked his fourth penalty within minutes of the restart, it would be in the dying minutes before replacement Ashley Beck scored a third try.
Their failure to pick up a bonus point in either of their matches will prove costly unless they can beat New Zealand, as Australia, South Africa, England and France in the other pools all have more points than Wales after two rounds.
England 36-21 Ireland
England will play a Pool B decider with France after full back Tom Homer kicked 21 points in a 36-21 defeat of Ireland on Wednesday to become the all-time top point scorer in IRB Junior World Championship history.
Homer's haul of five penalties and three conversions at the Estadio El Coloso del Parque in Rosario takes him to 112 points in seven JWC matches and past the 105 mark of South African Francois Brummer.
England, though, failed to pick up a try-scoring bonus point in the victory with the Irish try-line breached only three times, two of them in the second half by replacement Freddie Burns who had impressed in round one against Argentina.
A glorious overlap had been wasted by a poor pass just minutes before Burns scored, when the fly-half stepped through a gap in the Irish defence to score under the posts, giving Homer an easy conversion.
Ireland started piling on the pressure in England's half, desperate for tries to haul back a 29-14 deficit, but instead Burns took a telegraphed long pass and raced away from his own 22 to score his second try under the posts.
There was time for a late consolation try for Eoin Griffin, the replacement dummying to pass before side-stepping the defence to touch down under the posts, but Ireland come away from the match without a losing bonus point.
The two sides may never have met in the Junior World Championship before today, but Ireland went into the encounter full of confidence after beating England 25-10 in the Under 20 Six Nations en route to claiming the title.
Only six members of England's starting line up at the Estadio El Coloso del Parque began that Six Nations match at Kingsholm in Gloucester, captain Jacob Rowan among them, compared to 11 of Ireland's players.
England coach Mark Mapletoft had made 10 changes to the side which beat Argentina 48-22 in their opening Pool B match, and it was one of those changes – flanker Jamie Gibson – who crossed for the first try of the match in the 18th minute.