New Zealand Under 20 top Pool B after Scotland thriller
Scottish forward power tests New Zealand
Scotland applied plenty of heat at scrum time, earning several penalties, and three of their four tries came from powerful lineout drives. Their fourth, just before fulltime, came one phase after another lineout rumble.
Otherwise, Scotland winger Daniel Kelly and first five-eighth Jake Dalziel were the only players to make genuine line breaks against a more threatening, albeit inaccurate, New Zealand side.
It was an intense and scrappy opening, with 14 minutes played before the deadlock was broken. New Zealand captain Haki Wiseman made a crushing tackle in midfield that dislodged the ball from Scotland near the 10-metre mark. All Blacks Sevens winger Kele Lasaqa toed the ball ahead, and Logan Williams, a former Scotland Under-18 player, dribbled it further before winning the race for the touchdown. Mika Muliaina converted to make it 7-0.
In the first half, both teams were largely anchored between the two 10-metre lines. Opportunities were sparse, so when Scotland conceded a penalty within Muliaina’s range, the Southland Stags first five-eighth gratefully chipped over three points.
Lasaqa can create space in a phone box. In the 36th minute, he fended off two players and wriggled an offload out of a tangle of tackles to Cohen Norrie. It was a try from nothing, but illustrated the difference between the two teams. New Zealand were capable of spontaneous brilliance, while Scotland relied heavily on set-piece power.
Scotland No.8 Harvey Preston powered over for the first of their three maul tries, with a sideline conversion from Dalziel making it 17-7 at the interval.
Heat takes its toll
In recognition of the heat, the halftime break was extended to 20 minutes. New Zealand resurfaced ice-cold, with a clinical Muliaina grubber behind the purple wall gathered by an unmarked Norrie.
Dalziel then smacked a 50/22 five metres shy of the New Zealand line, and the imposing Scottish maul steamed over to close the gap to 22-14 after 48 minutes.
Norrie was a talisman for Sacred Heart College when they won their first 1A championship in 58 years in 2023. His sudden break in the 57th minute, followed by a right-arm offload while falling, put Siale Pahulu over and stretched New Zealand’s advantage to 29-14 after Muliaina added the sideline conversion.
The penalty count went against New Zealand 11-9, and the infringements that allowed Scotland to enter the 22 and mount their driving maul were a concern. With 20 minutes remaining, Scotland had hope at 29-19. However, Old Boys University lock Johnny Falloon snuffed out any chance of a Scottish comeback with a New Zealand try from a lineout drive.
WATCH: New Zealand U20 v Scotland U20 highlights
New Zealand showcase promising attack
Both sides combined for 44 turnovers, but New Zealand made nine line breaks and delivered 72 more passes, showing much more enterprise on attack. Flankers Bradley Tocker and Caleb Woodley topped the tackle count with 10 apiece. Lasaqa had nine tackles and two line breaks, while New Zealand won 17 of their 19 lineouts. Scotland, not always accurate with their throwing, secured only 63 per cent of their possession.
New Zealand have now won all five matches against Scotland at the World Rugby Junior Championship. Their most recent clash before today was in Italy in 2019, when New Zealand won 52-33, with Samoan international Lalomilo Lalomilo scoring two of their eight tries. Scottish international Fergus Burke kicked six conversions for New Zealand, who arguably selected a stronger bench than starting XV, with future All Blacks Ollie Norris, Tamaiti Williams, Cullen Grace, Leroy Carter and Leicester Fainga’anuku all coming off the pine. Billy Proctor, Quinn Tupaea, Simon Parker and Tupou Vaa’i were the future All Blacks in the starting XV.
In 2017, in Georgia, Leicester Fainga’anuku’s brother, Tima, was the star in a 42-20 win over Scotland, scoring three tries. New Zealand went on to win the tournament, while Tima has since played senior internationals for Tonga.
MATCH SUMMARY: New Zealand Under 20: 36, Scotland Under 20: 26
New Zealand Under 20: 36 (Logan Williams, Cohen Norrie 2, Siale Pahulu, Johnny Falloon tries; Mika Muliaina 4 cons, pen)
Scotland Under 20: 26 (Harvey Preston, Joe Roberts 2, Daniel Kelly tries; Jake Dalziel 3 cons)
HT: 17-7
