Baby Boks snatch draw against France
AN injury-time try from No 8 Juarno Augustus and a pressure-laden conversion kick by former Grey High flyhalf Curwin Bosch earned the Junior Springboks a 23-23 draw in their World Championship opener in Tbilisi yesterday.
France dominated most of the match and held a 10-point lead after an hour in difficult‚ wet and windy conditions in the Georgian capital‚ but failed to punish an error-strewn South African performance fully.
The South African bench injected more urgency into the match in the final quarter‚ especially at scrumhalf where replacement Francois de Villiers delivered a slicker and more decisive service than Rewan Kruger.
Augustus was immense in an otherwise forgettable outing by the Junior Boks, while Bosch struggled in general play‚ but was flawless off the kicking tee with two conversions and two penalties.
France flyhalf Romain Ntamack‚ son of former French wing Emile‚ caught the eye with a superb display‚ which included two nerveless second-half drop-goals that gave his side a cushion going into the last quarter.
Ntamack profited from a good platform by the forwards and impeccable service from scrumhalf Baptiste Couilloud.
The Junior Boks made a fast start‚ playing with a strong wind in the driving rain, running into a 10-0 lead after seven minutes’ play.
Augustus scored from a pick-and-go close to the line in the second minute‚ which Bosch converted and then added a penalty.
But when France fullback Romain Buros scored after charging down a lethargic clearance by Kruger at the restart‚ the momentum shifted.
Bok wing Wandisile Simelane was sin-binned for a trip‚ and was followed to the bin by prop Gerhard Steenekamp for repeated infringements close to their line.
With 13 men, there was no way SA could hold out the French pack and it was hooker Florian Dufour who went over for France’s second try to give them a surprise lead at half time.
The Junior Boks meet hosts Georgia in Tbilisi on Sunday.