YOUNG WALLABIES RUN RIOT
THE Junior Wallabies have set up a tantalising Oceania under-20 rugby showdown with New Zealand after running in 15 tries against a hapless Tongan side en route to a 91-7 win.
The Australians were never troubled from the outset, scoring at more than a point a minute in their clash with Tonga at Bond University on the Gold Coast last night.
Matt McTaggart scored a superb first half hat-trick – scattered among nine firstterm tries.
Up front, Harry Hoopert followed his Super Rugby debut for Queensland with a dominant performance for the Junior Wallabies with both ball in hand and at scrum time.
Trevor Hosea proved near unstoppable every time he touched the ball and No.8 Josh Kemeny was a workhorse around the park.
The pack, on the whole, ran over the top of Tonga and allowed both captain Tate McDermott and flyhalf Will Harrison to flourish, unleashing outside backs that proved far too elusive for a Tongan unit that struggled to keep up.
Tonga did cross for one well worked first half try in their only foray into the Australian 22 but a 48-7 half-time scoreline was indicative of the gap between these two sides.
It was more of the same in the second term, as the Aussies ran in six more tries, though they did not surpass the 97-point margin New Zealand accrued against the Tongans in the tournament opener.
Reds young gun Harry Hockings entered the fray in the second term, steering the Australian lineout with aplomb.
The win sets up a blockbuster clash on Saturday night with New Zealand, who played with 14 men for 60 minutes but still proved far too good for Fiji in claiming a 55-15 win.