World Rugby U20 Championship Day One Wrap: England legend’s son scores a hat-trick, Junior Boks hammer Fiji

01/07/2024

Jurenzo Julius of Junior Springboks (Photo by Shaun Roy/World Rugby) and Jack Bracken of England U/20 (Photo by Thinus Maritz/World Rugby) during the 2024 U20 Championship.

South Africa, France and Ireland were big winners on day one of the 2024 World Rugby U20 World Championship as they topped their respective pools after the first round of fixtures.

Hosts South Africa thrashed Fiji 57-7 in the last game on Saturday at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, a win which sees them top Pool C.

Meanwhile, there were also wins for New Zealand, Australia and England.

Here is our wrap-up of the day’s action.

Pool standings after day one

2024 World Rugby U20s Championship standings after day one.

France 49-12 Spain

Defending champions France got their campaign off to a strong start, dispatching Spain with ease, running in seven tries to two in a 49-12 win.

Hooker Barnabé Massa and back-row Geoffrey Malaterre both grabbed braces for Les Bleuets, with centre Fabien Brau-Boirie and full-back Axel Desperes-Rigou also crossing for tries, with France also awarded a penalty try.

Spain, who were making their Championship debut after gaining promotion from the U20 Trophy success in Kenya last July, did score through hooker Digeo Gonzalez and Julien Burguillos but both tries came when France were well ahead on the scoreboard.

It took just three minutes for France to open the scoring as Desperes-Rigou strolled over after a delightful trick pass by captain and fly-half Hugo Reus. Spain managed to hold out Les Bleuets despite sustained pressure but it finally told when Massa grabbed his first from a driving maul in the 21st minute. The French hooker would double up just six minutes later. France’s pack overpowered Spain’s on the stroke of half-time and they were rewarded with a penalty try to lead 28-0 at the break.

Spain fought admirably throughout the fixture, and Blanco grabbed their first points in the tournament with a short-range effort. France took a while to get going in the second half but were lethal when they did as Brau-Boirie scored in the 61st minute and Malaterre in the 73rd and 75th. But it was Spain who had the final say as Burguillos scored with time nearly up on the clock.

England 40-21 Argentina

England were made to work hard for their 40-21 bonus-point win over Argentina as Mark Mapletoft’s side’s second-half showing saw them pull away to a comfortable win.

Argentina came flying out the blocks with scrum-half Genaro Podesta and captain Efrain Elias scoring tries in the opening half-hour of action.

England responded shortly after Elias’ try as Jack Bracken – son of 2003 World Cup winner Kyran Bracken – got his side on the board with a memorable try. Soon afterwards, scrum-half Ollie Allan produced a stunning 50:22 and England pounced at the opportunity as full-back Ben Redshaw raced over the line.

Two quick tries after the break, through Billy Sela and Henry Pollock, saw England go into the lead for the first time and while Elias grabbed another try for his side, the resulting conversion would be Argentina’s final contribution to the scoreboard.

Bracken would score a quick double to complete his hat-trick, dotting down in the 66th and 68th minute, which put the game to bed and sealed the win for England.

Where are they now? The star-studded World Rugby U20 Championship-winning England team that ended their title drought

Ireland 55-15 Italy

Ireland got their campaign up and running with a comprehensive 55-15 victory over Italy, running in eight tries.

Danny Sheahan got the onslaught started with a try in the third minute and while Italy responded with one of their own through Lorenzo Elettri and a penalty from Martino Pucciariello, Ireland were ruthless in their response.

Luke Murphy and Evan O’Connell both crossed the whitewash in quick succession with Sam Berman doing so twice as they opened up a 31-10 lead by half-time.

Italy would add one more try through Luca Belluci in the second half but from there Ireland took control as Berman completed his hat-trick before Finn Treacy and Sean Naughton completed the emphatic win.

Australia v Georgia

Australia opened their campaign with a stirring 35-11 comeback victory over Georgia in Cape Town on Saturday.

Fly-half Harry McLaughlin-Phillips cut the Georgians’ lead with a penalty before Australia were put further on the back foot when Harvey Cordukes saw red in the 25th minute for his high shot – with Australia playing just 20 minutes with 14 men due to the red card law trail.

McLaughlin-Phillips added another penalty to make it 8-6 but Georgia extended their advantage out to 11-6 with another penalty goal shortly after the break.

Australia took control of proceedings in the second half with winger Ronan Leahy, prop Lington Ieli, replacement back Angus Staniforth (2) – nephew of former Wallaby Scott Staniforth – and centre Jarrah McLeod crossing to bloat the scoreline out in their favour as they finished the day in second place in Pool B.

South Africa 57-7 Fiji

The Junior Springboks kicked off their 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship with a commanding 57-7 win over Fiji after leading 31-0 at half-time.

Jurenzo Julius scored the match’s opening try, adding a second before half-time, with Michail Damon and Joel Leotlela scoring between the centre’s two five-pointers as South Africa claimed the try-bonus point before the break.

Luca Bakkes grabbed the Junior Boks’ first try of the second half, and while Fiji got one back through prop Anare Caginavanua, it was one-way traffic in the final quarter as Sibabalwe Mahashe, Likhona Finca, and Asad Moos’ tries saw South Africa post a half-century.

Where are they now? The U20 World Rugby Players of the Year

Wales 34-41 New Zealand

New Zealand kicked off their campaign with a plucky 41-34 win over Wales, with the losing side claiming two bonus points from the result in an 11-try thriller.

Steffan Emanuel, Huw Anderson, Macs Page and Louie Hennessey (2) all grabbed tries for Wales, with Harrie Wilde adding five points from the tee and Harri Ford nine.

Meanwhile, Dylan Pledger, Xavier Tito-Harris, Xavi Taele (2) and Tai Cribb scored tries for New Zealand, with Rico Simpsons racking up nine tries from the tee.

Ultimately, it was a New Zealand penalty try that split the two teams with Wales claiming their second bonus point with a late flurry of two tries.

Day Two fixtures

Thursday 4 July

Ireland v Georgia

Venue: Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch

Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 BST)

Broadcast: SuperSport), L’Équipe TV, Sky NZ, FBC, RugbyPass TV

Wales v Spain

Venue: Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town

Kick-off: 14:00 local (13:00 BST)

Broadcast: SuperSport), L’Équipe TV, Sky NZ, FBC, RugbyPass TV

France v New Zealand