Baby Blacks unstoppable
An unstoppable Baby Blacks side has crushed England 64-17 in a record-breaking final of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in Tbilisi at the weekend.
Powerful hooker Asafo Aumua led the way with a hat-trick of tries as New Zealand crossed the line 10 times in the rout, which was the most scored by any team in an under-20 final.
The game was effectively over at halftime as New Zealand raced out to an early 40-7 lead, with Dalton Papali’i and Pouri RaketeStones kicking things off by scoring inside the opening 10 minute against an England team captained by Zach Mercer, son of former Kiwis rugby league international Gary Mercer.
The Baby Blacks continued to dominate with their strong ball runners running riot through the English defence, eventually chalking up the biggest scoreline for a final in the competition’s 10-year history.
Captain Luke Jacobson, who iced the victory with his second try of the game right before fulltime, was able to match the achievement of his older brother Mitchell from two years ago by winning the tournament.
‘‘It feels amazing, it’s been our goal for a long time - you feel it inside,’’ Jacobson said at fulltime.
‘‘We’ve had a discussion in the team about keeping the chat up and staying really positive. We just kept working really hard and played some good finals footy.’’