World Rugby U20s Championship Match Day 1: AJ Bell Stadium

Three games, two massive upsets, 119 points, 16 tries, and a red card; day one of the 2016 World Rugby U20 Championships kicked off with a bang at the AJ Bell Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. 

Argentina 24 – 15 France 

It did not take long for this year’s tournament to throw up a shock.

Co-sharing the honour of official tournament opener alongside South Africa-Japan (being played at the Manchester City Academy Stadium), Argentina-France was ultimately decided by a two-try three-minute spurt from Los Pumas to overcome a French side who had controlled and smothered the encounter for the first 70 minutes.

Inspired by reserve fly-half Martin Elias who kicked two penalties shortly after making his entrance midway into the second half to narrow the deficit to 15-12, the Argentinians’ persistent pressure first saw Lautaro Bazan Velez scramble over from in close to edge his side in front before back-row Bautista Stavile Bravin ran in from forty metres following an off-load in midfield that blew the French defence open for a second time in consecutive minutes.

The game’s opening half was a more subdued affair with both side’s powerful forward groups ensuring that the game was kept extremely tight with chances at a premium. When the chances did come however it was France who looked the more threatening. 

After an opening penalty from Argentina fly-half Domingo Miotti gave the Pumas the game’s first lead, a French win against the head at the scrum allowed Anthony Belleau to catch the Argentinian backline unawares with a grubber kick through that was collected by scrum-half Antoine Dupont to touch down in the corner. Belleau’s missed conversion meant after 10 minutes, the French held a narrow 5-3 advantage.

Miotti restored the Puma’s lead five minutes later with a beautifully struck effort from the touchline before Belleau replied in kind; the constant lead changes indicative of a game balanced on a knife edge.

However, as the half wore on, the French dominance at scrum-time – in large part due to the work of their props Clement Castets and Michael Simutoga, began to see the game tilt in their favour and they should have gone into half-time further ahead; a well-worked lineout in the corner allowed flanker Judicael Cancoriet to crash through the middle and over the try-line, only to spill the ball before touching down. At half-time, France held a slender 8-6 advantage.

The French ascendancy was to continue after the break with their forward pack once again the driving force behind the play. Early territory saw a French maul helped up over the line by a scrambling Argentine defence, but France’s dominance up front was duly rewarded with a penalty try from referee Graham Cooper following yet another punishing drive from the subsequent scrum. Belleau added the extras to push France out to a 15-6 lead, which considering the lack of Argentina penetration, despite the dazzling footwork of fullback Bautista Delguy, appeared to be extremely comfortable. 

Elias was to make his introduction shortly after, and his arrival coincided with a resurgent Argentina that finally began to make some headway against the French scrum, puncture the previously impenetrable defensive line, and clinically work their way downfield on four consecutive occasions to amass, first the penalties, and later the tries, that would see them overturn a shell-shocked French side.

Australia 10 – 15 Scotland

Tuesday’s shocks did not end there. 

A spectacular try from winger Darcy Graham that had more than a few shades of Jonny May’s effort against New Zealand to it proved decisive as Scotland took full advantage of Australian centre Campbell Magnay’s 44^th minute red card to produce the day’s second upset, running out narrow 15-10 winners.

Down 10-8 with just under twenty minutes remaining, Graham took a pass from Blair Kinghorn just inside the Wallabies’ half following a clearance kick, cut a delicious angle outside that turned the chasing defender Mack Mason inside-out before pinning his ears back and beating both Simon Kennewell and Jack Maddocks to the outside to dive over in the corner.

It was the moment of the magic the game sorely needed to truly come alive and the cutting edge that Scotland required to finally make their numerical advantage count after Magnay received a second yellow (and by extension a red) card, this time for a neck roll-cum-judo throw.

The first half was a lively, if somewhat sloppy, affair; Australia’s winger Kennewell, fullback Maddocks and Scotland wing Ben Robbins all produced a number of incisive runs through the opposition albeit with little support on offer to fully capitalise.

A slow-burning first twenty minutes for the scoreboard was punctured only by a 19^th minute Adam Hastings penalty, Scotland’s inability to come good on their admittedly ambitious play epitomised by their lack of scoring during Magnay’s first trip to the sin-bin after only five minutes.

And Scotland were made to pay for their earlier impotence as Australia responded with their own offensive; Kennewell’s pace on the wings stretched Scotland on a number of occasions before the atoning Magnay produced a break that ultimately ended with the centre in touch metres from the line.

However, it was lock Isack Rodda who ultimately broke the deadlock, strolling through the Scottish defence on 24 minutes with apparent ease to go in under the posts off the back of an attacking lineout. Mack Mason’s conversion gave Australia a 7-3 lead they would take into half-time.

The second half was where it began to unravel for the favoured Wallabies, beginning with Magany’s second serious infringement. Asked to consolidate a lead with fourteen men for the remaining thirty-six minutes was always going to be a tough ask, one made exponentially harder when tighthead prop Zander Ferguson went over from in close minutes later.

A missed conversion from Hastings meant Scotland only held a one-point advantage, 8-7, only for Mason to drill his second penalty of the afternoon to restore the Wallabies’ lead on fifty-five minutes. 

But up stepped Graham eight minutes later to produce a scintillating score – the best of the day – to give Scotland a lead they wouldn’t relinquish despite a late Kennewell effort that was narrowly ruled to be in touch.

Georgia 0 – 55 New Zealand

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for Georgia, the third underdogs of the day.

And in truth, the game was over in the first minute; Shaun Stevenson’s try in the corner and Jordie Barrett’s conversion gave the ‘Baby Blacks’ more points within 100 seconds (7) than Georgia could amass over the entire 80 minutes.

What followed was the reigning U20 world champions laying down a major statement that they’re looking to emulate their elder brothers in winning consecutive international tournaments.

With Jordie (the youngenst of the Barrett family) pulling the strings from midfield and slotting conversions from all over the park, New Zealand simply overwhelmed a Georgian side that, whilst dogged and determined, could not come close to matching the Kiwi’s superior speed, physicality and technical ability.

It is a display that will surely trouble the would-be challengers to the All Blacks’ crown especially due to the simplicity with which New Zealand ran in nine tries and 55 points on Tuesday evening; a combination of quick, efficient passing along the line to score in the corner or kick and chases over the top where, more often than not, the Kiwi backs were able to outgas the covering Georgians and fall over the tryline ball in hand.

Through these methods, winger Caleb Makene and flanker Mitchell Jacobson both grabbed a brace of tries, with further scores coming from Sam Nock, Jonah Lowe, Hapakuki Moala-Liava’a and Malo Tuitama.

Although the game died down somewhat in the second half due to a combination of the All Blacks’ healthy lead (31 points at the interval) and the worsening weather, this was a dominant victory from a side that look ready for another deep run in the tournament.

Finally, some appreciation must be expressed for Georgia, who, despite playing from behind for every minute of the match bar the first, never once let their heads drop or put up a passive resistance against the All Black onslaught.

Furthermore, a silver lining for the Lelos and their supporters is that the trademark strength of Georgian rugby – scrummaging power – has bled down to their U20s side; Georgia held the ascendancy at the scrum all game and repeatedly pushed the All Blacks back at every opportunity. It is perhaps scant consolation for a team firmly rooted to the bottom of Pool A, but consolation nonetheless.

Team of the Day

Loosehead Prop: Clement Castets (France)
Hooker: Etienne Fourcade (France)
Tighthead Prop: Giorgi Melikidze (Georgia)

Lock: Marcos Kramer (Argentina)
Lock: Isack Rodda (Australia)

Blindside Flanker: Benito Paolucci (Argentina)
Openside Flanker: Mitchell Jacobson (New Zealand)
Number Eight: Jamie Ritchie (Scotland)

Scrum-half: Sam Nock (New Zealand)
Fly-half: Martin Elias (Argentina)

Winger: Simon Kennewell (Australia)
Inside Centre: Jordie Barrett (New Zealand)
Outside Centre: Patelesio Tomkinson (New Zealand)
Winger: Darcy Graham (Scotland)
Fullback: Bautista Delguy (Argentina) 

Standout Performers

Bautista Delguy

Dazzled the watching crowd (and a couple of opposition players) with some superb footwork that was one of Argentina’s few consistent methods of breaking the French defensive line.

Quick, elusive and willing to take his man on, Delguy, despite a smallish frame that the prototypical modern fullback is moving away from, shone alone as part of a somewhat underwhelming Puma backline against France.

Jamie Ritchie 

Although the Scottish backrow was forced into reshuffling itself on a number of occasions against Australia, Jamie Ritchie, whether deployed at Number 8 or Blindside Flanker was a destructive force in the Scottish pack.

The Edinburgh backrower was an omnipresent factor in the Scottish victory, not least in the game’s final minute where he (cleanly) secured what amounted to a game-winning turnover.

Ritchie’s mixture of jackaling ability and abrasive ball-carrying was on full display today against Australia.

Jack Maddocks

In a losing effort on Tuesday, Maddocks’ handling ability and rugby IQ shone through for Australia.

As happy to hit the line as he is to orchestrate opportunities for his teammates, Maddocks’ quick thinking and the superb timing on his passes opened up a number of gaps in the Scottish defence for the likes of Simon Kennewell and Campbell Magnay to exploit.

Maddocks exuded the backline versatility that Southern (and Northern) Hemisphere coaches crave in their players; he could have played anywhere from 10-15 against Scotland and still retain the same level of impact.

Nika Neparidze/Giorgi Melikidze

On a tough evening for the Lelos, the bulldozing power of Neparidze and Melikidze on either side of the Georgian pack was undoubtedly a major positive.

Rare are the occasions when an All Black, at any level, is comprehensively outplayed, but such was the fate for Ayden Johnstone and Kautai Sosefo who were bullied by the Neparidze/Melikidze combination on multiple occasions.

Scrummaging has always been the forte of Georgian rugby, so it’s little surprise they have players of this calibre within their age group teams, but watching the Georgian scrum work the All Blacks was one of the most impressive feats from day one of the championship. It’s also won’t surprise you to learn that Melikidze, has already been snapped up by Stade Francais.