ENGLAND UNDER 20s defender their Junior World Championship crown this morning with a tense 21-20 win over South Africa at Auckland’s Eden Park.
Both teams scored two tries apiece but England managed to hang on in the face of a late onslaught by the “Baby Boks” to retain the under-20s title they won for the first time in France last year.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” England captain Maro Itoje said. “The boys worked so hard. We believed if we stuck to our plan that we’d do well and we did, we won.”
South Africa captain Handre Pollard said his side simply came up short after exhausting themselves with wins against host nation New Zealand in the pool stages and the semi-finals.
“We fought hard and had two great wins against New Zealand but we just weren’t good enough but next time we’ll come around,” he said.
There was some consolation for Pollard when he was named IRB junior player of the year.
South Africa, the 2012 champions, made a tentative start in the final but scored the first points through a Pollard penalty.
He then set up the game’s first try when England lost possession though a sloppy pass, sending a perfectly weighted chip kick into the path of an on-rushing Jesse Kriel.
With England’s line-out failing miserably, South Africa continued to build pressure but were left standing when Nick Tompkins went on a jinking run against the run of play and offloaded to Nathan Earle for a five-pointer.
The teams exchanged penalties early in the second half before Joel Conlon scored a push-over try for England off the back of a driving maul.
Kriel narrowed the gap to 21-20 when he darted down the left wing for his second try in the 63rd minute but South Africa could not regain the lead, despite a failed Pollard drop goal attempt in the final stages.
