NZ claim under-20s Rugby Championship title
Jono Gibbes’ Baby Blacks survived two second-half yellow cards and a few late anxious moments to wrap up preparations for rugby’s world under-20s championships with a trophy-lifting effort on Australia’s Sunshine Coast.
The New Zealanders clinched the inaugural Rugby Championship under-20 title by rolling past Australia 36-25, five tries to three, in the tournament finale yesterday afternoon. That, allied with their opening-round 13-13 draw in the wet with South Africa and a runaway 43-20 victory over Argentina, saw them finish comfortably top of the table.
The Australians had beaten South Africa and lost to Argentina in the lead-in and finished bottom of the standings in year one of the southern hemisphere age-group event.
The New Zealanders were led by standout efforts from Wellington speedster Stanley Solomon on the wing, centre Xavi Taele and openside Johnny Lee in the loose as they ran in two tries – both to Solomon
– to lead 14-6 at the break, and sealed the deal with second-half scores to halfback Dylan Pledger, replacement hooker Manumaua Letiu and the game-clincher from the impressive Taele.
Gibbes’ men had a few shaky moments in the second spell when yellow cards to wing King Maxwell and first five Rico Simpson handed a numerical advantage to the Aussies.
Two tries in three minutes to home wing Will McCulloch – taking advantage of the undermanned Kiwi defence –saw them storm into a 25-19 advantage at the three-quarter mark.
But the New Zealanders steadied beautifully over the run home, with forwards Letiu, Kurene Luamanuvae and Jeremiah Avei-Collins making big impacts off the bench, Pledger running a smart game from the base and Taele’s hard running completing a two-try effort over the final 20.
The New Zealand forwards were particularly impressive over the run home as they took charge with some quality possession rugby.
The achievement sets the Baby Blacks up nicely for the 14th edition of the world championships in South Africa (June 29-July 19) as they look to re-establish New Zealand’s pre-eminence at the event.
New Zealand won the last of their six world under-20s titles in 2017 and have fallen short of the semifinals the last two editions as France have established themselves as the leading team on the planet with a hat-trick of titles.
But Gibbes has been installed to oversee a rejuvenation of the age-group programme after some underwhelming results over the last few seasons. He has particularly looked to shore up the team’s power and organisation up front.
The Baby Blacks had much the better of the opening 40 when two tries from the flying Somon took them to a 12-6 halftime advantage.
Pledger’s early second-half try extended the advantage to 19-6, before the Aussies struck with three scores in a dozen minutes to storm into that six-point lead heading into the final quarter.