South Africa U20 73 – 14 Scotland U20 Men | Match Report

Tries from Seb Stephen and Ollie Finlayson-Russell weren’t enough for any points as Kenny Murray’s team were overpowered by a slick all round performance from the side in green in Italy.

Matthew Urwin got things underway in the blazing Calvisano sun- a late addition to the side after Isaac Coates was ruled out.

Scotland were the first to forge an attack. A solid first line out saw the ball break to Seb Stephen. His burrowing run through broke the line before an offload found Urwin. He cheekily tried the kick and chase but it was well thwarted by Gilermo Mentoe.

Despite strong opening phases from Scotland, the first score came the way of the Junior Boks after Jaco Williams intercepted a cross-field kick in the air. Once he had ball in hand he motored down the left flank. Assessing his options, he decided to go it alone, kicking and chasing to conclude an impressive 80 yard dart by crossing the whitewash. The conversion was dead centre by Vusi Simphiwe Moyo [0-7, 4 mins].

The pressure intensified as South Africa crossed for their second try. A rolling maul on the left was simply too strong for the Scottish rearguard to withstand. When it reached the line, it was the captain Thando Biyela at the foot of the pile with ball in hand. This time the conversion went awry [0-12, 11 mins].

Dominic Maglas rounded off a swift Junior Boks move as they scored their third score of the afternoon. A solid scrum saw the ball break to scrum-half Ceano Everson. His jinking run freed up space in the midfield. Several sharp passes later and Maglas had a clear sight of the line, where he made no mistake [0-19, 14 mins].

The bonus point was secured when the rapid Williams scored his second of the day. A strong carry from Gino Cupido preluded an offload straight into the arms of the winger. Selling a dummy to the defence, he hit the turf to increase the advantage. Moyo made it three kicks from four [0-26, 17 mins].

The Junior Boks were given another chance to launch an assault for the line after Scotland were caught offside. From the lineout the maul rumbled forward again, with the Scottish defence cracking just before the try line. Away broke Oliver prop Oliver Reid to get his name on the scoresheet, with Moyo converting [0-33, 23 mins].

Scotland got on the board through hooker Seb Stephen through a well crafted try. From the lineout on the 22, Jack Hocking gathered the ball and looked for a break. Several smart attacking lines were taken before Reuben Logan thundered beyond the green defensive jerseys. Supporting on the right was Stephen, who galloped away for the score. Matthew Urwin converted from right under the posts [7-33, 30 mins].

The pace of the Junior Boks saw them reply instantaneously. A lightening break from Maglas took a number of Scottish jerseys out of the game. As he galloped into the 22, he offloaded to his outside centre Gino Cupido who was unchallenged to sear clear. As Moyo’s replacement, Ian van der Merwe successfully took over kicking duties. Two minutes later, Jean Erasmus hit the line after countless phases of power and pressure. On this occasion van der Merwe’s kick was off [7-45, 36 mins].

Just before the interval, lock Charlie Moss was sent to the sin-bin for foul play after direct head contact occurred during a collision with Cheswill Jooste. Down a man, Scotland were subject to  a review to see whether it would be upgraded to a 20 minute red card. Over the interval, the bunker concluded that a yellow would suffice.

Half Time: South Africa U20 45 – 7 Scotland U20 

Despite being a man light, Scotland began the second period spiritedly, repelling several waves of South African advances. The standout of these being through Jack Brown, who denied the agile Jooste a certain try with an exemplary hold up, after fine build-up involving Maglas and Cupido. The defence again got under the ball to deny Jacobus Grobbelaar as Scotland showed their stubborness to see out the ten minutes without Moss.

South Africa got the first try of the second half right on the hour mark. From a Junior Boks lineout on the 22 Scotland got hold of the ball through Seb Stephen, but as he hit the turf the ball was lost into the hands of Ceano Everson. From that position the scrum-half was deadly, weaving between the lines to go over under the sticks. Stephanus Linde swiftly added another, powering through at the end of a blindingly quick move from the men in green, who had refound their intensity. Both scores were converted by van der Merwe [7-59, 65 mins].

The three of Williams, Maglas and Everson combined with ten minutes to go. Everson began the move with a sharp long pass out wide, before Maglas freed Williams down the left. Arriving on a late support line was Everson again to gather the ball on the run before hitting the whitewash. Van der Merwe delivered with the boot again [7-66, 72 mins].

Scotland weren’t going away quietly as Ollie Finlayson-Russell got his first try in the thistle. From a well taken lineout on the 22, a big carry from Seb Stephen afforded  Finlayson-Russell the space to bulldoze between the green jerseys in defence. In the absence of the substituted Urwin, Jack Brown added the extras [14-66, 73 mins].

South Africa got the final score of the day through substitute and tournament top scorer Haashim Pead. Another roaring run down the left from Jaco Williams saw him supported by Pead on his right shoulder to get in on the act and round off the scoring. Van der Merwe put the final points on the board as referee Ben Breakspear brought the game to a conclusion [14-73, 80 mins].

Full Time: South Africa 73 – 14 Scotland U20

Scotland U20: 15. Jack Brown, 14. Nairn Moncrieff (both Edinburgh Rugby), 13. Angus Hunter (Heriot’s Rugby), 12. Jack Hocking (Unattached), 11. Cameron van Wyk (Ayr RFC), 10. Matthew Urwin (Glasgow Warriors), 9. Hector Patterson (Edinburgh Rugby); 1. Jake Shearer (Glasgow Warriors), 2. Seb Stephen (Edinburgh Academical/ Glasgow Warriors), 3. Jamie Stewart (Edinburgh Rugby), 4. Mark Fyffe (University of Edinburgh), 5. Charlie Moss (Montpellier), 6. Oliver Duncan,  7. Freddy Douglas- Captain (both Edinburgh Rugby), 8. Reuben Logan (Northampton Saints).

Replacements: 16. Joe Roberts (Glasgow Warriors) (for Douglas, 58 mins), 17. Will Pearce (Cardiff Metropolitan University/ Bristol Bears) (for Shearer, 55 mins), 18. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty (Edinburgh Rugby) (for Stewart, 55 mins), 19. Bart Godsell (Loughborough University) (for Fyffe, 65 mins), 20. Oliver Finlayson-Russell (University of St Andrews) (for Roberts, 63 mins), 21. Noah Cowan (Brunel University/ Ealing Trailfinders) (for Patterson, 55 mins), 22. Kerr Yule (Glasgow Warriors) (for Urwin, 65 mins) , 23. Jed Findlay (Exeter Chiefs) (for Moncrieff, 67 mins).

South Africa U20: 15. Gilermo Mentoe, 14. Cheswill Jooste, 13. Gino Cupido, 12. Dominic Malgas, 11. Jaco Williams, 10. Vusi Simphiwe Moyo, 9. Ceano Everson; 1. Oliver Reid, 2. Jaundre Schoeman, 3. Jean Erasmus, 4. Jacobus Grobbelaar, 5. Morne Venter, 6. Thando Biyela, 7. Matt Romao, 8. Stephanus Linde.

Replacements: 16. Siphosethu Mnebelele, 17. Phiwayinkosi Kubheka, 18. Herman Lubbe, 19. JJ Theron, 20. Bathobele Hlekani, 21. Haashim Pead, 22. Ian van der Merwe, 23. Demitre Erasmus.

Referee: Ben Breakspear
AR1:  Tomas Bertazza
AR2: Alberto Favaro
TMO: Graham Cooper