Junior Boks beat New Zealand in third-place playoff at World Championship

THE JUNIOR SPRINGBOKS secured their seventh bronze medal after beating New Zealand 40-30 in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship third-place playoff yesterday.

Chean Roux’s team opened the scoring when wing Tyrone Green intercepted a pass by New Zealand. Fullback Gianni Lombard added the conversion (7-0).

The New Zealanders hit back when Jay Renton dived over, and inside centre Harry Plummer added the extras to level the score (7-all) after five minutes.

Plummer put the Junior All Blacks in the lead with a penalty kick (7-10), and later made sure that he contributed points in the form of an unconverted try as well (7-15).

Prop Sazi Sandi stretched out to place the ball after a powerful lineout drive by the Junior Boks. Lombard hit his target again (14-15).

New Zealand stretched their lead when Plummer slotted a long-range penalty kick to take the score to 14-18, and lock Waimana Riedlinger-Kapa got over the try line on the half-hour mark. Plummer added two more points to take the score to 14-25 (halftime).

In the second half Green got his second try in the right-hand corner. Lombard aced another tough attempt at posts to take them to within four points of New Zealand (21-25).

Lock Ruan Nortje scored the try to get the lead (26-25), and the tournament’s top try-scorer Wandisile Simelane sliced up midfield to score their sixth try. Lombard added the conversion to stretch their lead (33-25) in the 64th minute. Replacement prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye scored a five-pointer that took the score to 40-25. Left wing Caylib Clarke had the last say just before the siren went when he picked up a kick-pass and ran in to score New Zealand’s only points in the second half (40-30).