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England Under 20’s

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ENGLAND HAVE BEEN CROWNED IRB JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONS

for 2014 after beating South Africa 21-20 in a pulsating final at Eden Park on Friday night.

The hard-fought victory extends England’s hold on the trophy, which they won last year in France.

Hosts New Zealand finished the tournament on a high by beating Ireland to third place, while Australia also finished strongly to edge France for fifth.

Wales beat Samoa to seventh, Argentina overcame Scotland to finish ninth and Italy edged Fiji 22-17 to ensure that they will remain in the draw for the competition they are due to host in 2015. As the 12th-placed finishers Fiji will play the Junior World Rugby Trophy in 2015.

It took 20 minutes for the first try of the final, but when it came it was worth waiting for. England knocked on and SA captain Handre Pollard spotted a gap in the defence with a perfectly weighted chip. Jesse Kriel won the race to the ball and had an easy run to the line.

England responded with a long-range penalty attempt from Aaron Morris and hit the front for the first time on the stroke of half-time when Nathan Earle, an IRB Junior Player of the Year nominee, went over in the right corner to give his side an 11-10 lead at the break.

The two sides traded penalties in the 10 minute period after the break, before replacement back row Joel Conlon dropped down on the ball after a strong drive from the England forwards to make it 21-13.

Pollard gathered his troops together under the posts and after weathering another period of England pressure it was the Junior Boks who hit back with some slick hands down the left wing, Duhan van der Merwe breaking a tackle to send Kriel over for his second try, which galvanised the South Africans and their bellowing support.

They came close to scoring another try within minutes after a break by the other Kriel twin on the park, Dan, but England’s defence held firm.

England were barely able to get out of their own half in the final quarter but held wave after wave of South African attack. Pollard missed with a drop goal attempt and when the final whistle blew England celebrated a successful title defence.

ENGLAND 21 SOUTH AFRICA 20

ENGLAND FUTURE IS BRIGHT AS JUNIORS RETAIN WORLD TITLE

The kids are all right. In fact, they are better than

all right. For the second consecutive year, England’s under-20s have been crowned world champions and for Stuart Lancaster, who watched a compelling final from the Eden Park stands, the future looks bright indeed.

England recovered from a 10-3 deficit and withstood a torrid South Africa fightback to secure their third Junior World Championship final in four years. Eight of the team who finished runners up in 2011, including Owen Farrell, Mako Vunipola and Marland Yarde, are regulars in Lancaster’s senior squad.

Jack Nowell was capped by England last season within months of winning the world title with the under-20s and two more graduates from that team, Anthony Watson and Luke Cowan-Dickie, are closing in on senior international honours.

Lancaster has known this England under-20s team since he coached them as 17-year-olds; he will have a decent idea which of this squad are likely to have broken into the senior team by the 2019 World Cup. For too long the senior England team was disconnected from the structure below it, but that is no longer the case. The England structure is much better connected now (Lancaster remains in overall charge as the head of elite player development) and the RFU has worked closely with Premiership Rugby, which also deserves credit, to bridge the gap.

The England Qualified Player (EQP) scheme encourages clubs to develop home-grown talent and the academy system is working, while dual registration, the LV= Cup and the A League have provided young players with opportunities to gain experience.

Yesterday’s victory, however close, was evident of a talent development system that is working and, in many respects, is now the envy of the global game. New Zealand, who won the first four Junior World Championship titles, look upon England with a new respect.

Maro Itoje, the Saracens lock and England Under-20 captain, has been learning the intricacies of lineout play from Steve Borthwick and was the outstanding player on the field when he made his Aviva Premiership debut for Saracens at Leicester in May. Yesterday, he was imperious as England showed immense character to come from behind before resisting the late onslaught from South Africa to be crowned champions.

The Baby Boks controlled the first half-hour and things began to look ominous for England; the lineout was a disaster, they were losing the kicking contest and their game was riddled with mistakes. South Africa capitalised with a converted

try from Jesse Kriel.

However, England turned the tide in the space of three minutes before the interval. Aaron Morris kicked a stunning 56-metre penalty goal and Nathan Earle scored in the corner after a powerful run from Nick Tompkins, the Saracens centre.

Billy Burns and Handre Pollard, the South Africa fly half, exchanged penalty goals early in the second half before England extended their lead with a second try, scored by Joel Conlan after a well-constructed lineout drive.

Burns missed a penalty goal attempt that would have pushed England 11 points clear and South Africa came storming back, Kriel scoring his second try after Duhan Van Der Merwe had brushed off Tompkins’s tackle.

The conversion set up a tense finale, but England defended with immense courage and closed out the game expertly to seal a memorable triumph.

Not all England teams flatter to deceive when it comes to World Cups.

Scorers: England Under-20: Tries: Earle (39), Conlan (54).

Conversion: Burns. Penalty goals: Burns 2 (18, 44), Morris (37). South Africa Under-20: Tries: J Kriel 2 (21, 65). Conversions: Pollard 2. Penalty goals: Pollard 2 (15, 47).

Scoring sequence (England first): 3-0, 3-3, 3-10, 11-10 (halftime), 14-10, 14-13, 21-13, 21-20 England: A Morris (Bedford Blues); H Packman (Northampton), N Tompkins (Saracens), H Sloan (Harlequins), N Earle (Saracens); B Burns (Gloucester), H Taylor (Loughborough University); D Hobbs-Awoyemi (Northampton; rep: A Lundberg, London Wasps, 69mins), T Woolstencroft (Bath; rep: J Walker, Leeds Carnegie, 62), P Hill (Leeds Carnegie), M Itoje (Saracens), C Ewels (Bath), R Moriarty (Gloucester), G Jones (London Wasps; rep: J Conlon, (Exeter Chiefs, 14-21, 40), J Chisholm (Harlequins).

South Africa: W Gelant (Blue Bulls); D Kriel (Blue Bulls), J Kriel (Blue Bulls), A Esterhuizen (Sharks; rep: D Van der Merwe, SA Sevens, 53), S Petersen (Kings); H Pollard (Blue Bulls), JP Smith (Blue Bulls); T Du Toit (Sharks; rep: P Schoeman, Blue Bulls, 62), C Els (Blue Bulls; rep: J Dweba, Free State, 48), D Van Der Westhuizen (Blue Bulls; rep: W Louw, Blue Bulls, 46), JD Shickerling (Western Province), NJ van Rensburg (Blue Bulls), J Vermeulen (Western Province; rep: J L du Preez, Sharks, 46), C Brink (Golden Lions), A Davis (Kings).

Referee: B O’Keeffe (New Zealand).

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