Junior Boks and New Zealand play out thrilling draw in inaugural U20 Rugby Championship

South Africa and New Zealand have endured many fine battles on the rugby field and Thursday’s opener to the inaugural Under-20 Rugby Championships between the old rivals continued the fine tradition.

It ended 13-13 in treacherous conditions with New Zealand scoring two tries to SA’s one. New Zealand’s second try, scored by right wing Frank Vaenuku levelled the scores and Rico Simpson missed the conversion to give them the lead with two minutes to play.

The Junior Boks were down to 14 men at the time with lock JF van Heerden in the bin for an earlier infringement close to his line.

Both sides will be happy with the result, and both sides will rue missed chances when they do their analysis. It was that kind of day, where every pass and moment of contact could’ve led to a loose ball.

Torrential rain

A torrential downpour two hours before kick-off at the ironically named Sunshine Coast Stadium in Queensland put the game in jeopardy. Staff were sopping the pitch an hour before kick-off. At that stage, the teams still weren’t sure if the match would go ahead.

It did, but on a field marred by puddles of water everywhere. It ensured that keeping inevitable errors to manageable levels was going to be critical, and that the contest was even more of a battle of attrition than usual. But it was also compelling and a real test of the resolve and character of both sets of players.

Malachi Wrampling-Alec of New Zealand is tackled by Jurenzo Julius in the tough conditions (Photo: Albert Perez/Getty Images)

Junior Bok captain Zachary Porthen revealed the team’s mindset after the game when he explained that in their environment, no excuses are tolerated. “We can’t control the weather, we have to control what we can,” was Porthen’s assessment.

And for 40 minutes the Junior Boks had very little control as they played ankle-deep in water, into a stiff wind. But they tackled and defended brilliantly and stayed in the match, only 3-0 down at the break, courtesy of a lone Isaac Hutchinson penalty.

Had New Zealand been more clinical, or more inclined to kick for poles, the damage might have been worse at halftime. As it was, only being down by three points was a win for the Junior Boks and despite conceding a 53rd-minute try when the impressive Baby Blacks left wing Stanley Solomon slipped in the corner.

The try was slightly against the run of play with the Junior Boks heavily on attack, only to see a chip from left wing Litelihle Bester intercepted and hacked deep into SA territory. In the scramble on defence, New Zealand earned a scrum and from that set piece they went wide off first phase where Solomon scored.

Junior Bok right wing Joel Leotlela scores the team's only try on their way to a 13-13 draw against New Zealand. (Photo: Albert Perez/Getty Images)

Digging in

It might have signalled the end of the contest for lesser teams, but the Junior Boks dug in. Almost from the restart to the try, they earned a penalty and wisely went for poles. Flyhalf Tyler Sefoor slotted it for the first of his eight points on the night.

Minutes later, South Africa scored their only try when defensive pressure led to a New Zealand mistake in their own 22-metre area.

Bok wing Joel Leotlela chased a kick from scrumhalf Asad Moos, and forced an error and knock-on by Simpson, which was snaffled on the ground by SA hooker Ethan Bester. From the recycled ball Leotlela was on hand to finish. Sefoor converted and South Africa suddenly led.

Another Sefoor penalty extended the lead and South Africa could have put the game away with another shot at goal from the tee, which just sailed wide.

New Zealand did well to hang in at a time when the Junior Boks were rampant, but it remains a mystery how their tactic of regularly and blatantly holding South African players beyond the ruck, was missed by the officials.

With Van Heerden binned for a professional foul the Junior Boks played the last seven minutes with 14 men and inevitably the Baby Blacks found a way to the tryline.

With the last move of the game, South Africa had a penalty deep inside their half, but in the treacherous conditions, they opted to tap and kick it out to end the game, instead of going for the win.

Under the circumstances, it was probably a wise choice, because the risk of losing, outweighed the reward of winning in round one of the tournament. DM

Scorers:

South Africa — Try: Joel Leotlela. Conversion: Tylor Sefoor. Penalty: Sefoor (2).

New Zealand — Tries: Stanley Solomon, Frank Vaenuku. Penalty: Isaac Hutchison.