South Africa u/18 played their second and final match in the U18 International Series when they faced England in Paarl on Saturday. South Africa u/18 steadily took control of the match to secure a well-deserved 33-19 win.
The first half was played at a blistering pace with both sides scoring brilliant tries. South Africa u/18 was denied a late try and led 21-19 going into the second half. South Africa u/18 scored two tries in the second half and were well on their to win with fourteen minutes to play. No points were scored in the final minutes of the match and South Africa u/18 deservedly won a n exciting match.
The first ten minutes of the match was an arm wrestle, however, England u/18 were the first to score and took an early lead of 07-00. South Africa u/18 retaliated immediately with a try of their own to level the scores 07-07 after fourteen minutes of play. A lapse of concentration by South Africa u/18 led to England u/18 slicing through the defence to score their second try to lead 14-07 after just fifteen minutes of play.
The arm wrestle continued until Gino Cupido cut through the defence of the England u/18 backline to level the scores 14-14 with ten minutes of play left in the first half. South Africa u/18 continued to find the gaps as the game opened up and Cheswill Jooste beat several defenders with great stepping to score the hosts third try. However, England u/18 struck back from the kickoff when Toby Baker crashed through several tackles to score their third try. South Africa u/18 led 21-19 with four minutes left to play in the first half.
The second half continued at a blistering pace with JJ Theron who scored a try with a pickup and go to extend the South African u/18 lead to 28-19 with twenty-five minutes to play in the second half. A brilliant individual effort by Scott Nel who scored South Africa u/18's sixth try to extend their lead to 33-19 and fourteen minutes to play.
Scorers:
SA u/18: Tries: JC Mars, Gino Cupido, Cheswill Jooste, Siphosethu Mnebelele, JJ Theron. Conversions: Kyle Smith (4)
England u/18: Tries: Olamide Sodeke, Nick Lilley, Toby Baker. Conversion: Angus Hall (2)
SA u/18: 15 JC Mars, 14 Scott Nel, 13 Gino Cupido, 12 Janco Purchase, 11 Cheswill Jooste, 10 Kyle Smith, 9 Haashim Pead, 8 JJ Theron (captain), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Marno Stopforth, 5 Riley Norton, 4 Jacobus Grobbelaar, 3 Jean Erasmus, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Lithemba Mfupi. Replacements: 16 Imaani Pemba, 17 Phiwayinkosi Kubeka, 18 Simphiwe Ngobese, 19 Ulrich van der Westhuizen, 20 Xola Nyali, 21 Christiaan van der Westhuizen, 22 Dominic Malgas, 23 Jameel de Jongh, 24 Luyanda Kunene, 25 Thando Biyela
England u/18: 15. Jack Bracken, 14. Angus Hall, 13. Nick Lilley, 12. Toby Baker, 11. Charlie Griffin, 10. Ollie Davies
9. Lucas Friday, 8. Solomon Shand, 7. Charlie West, 6. Ronan Daniell, 5. Olamide Sodeke, 4. Junior Kpoku, 3. Billy Sela, 2. Kepueli Tuipulotu, 1. Jamie Miller. Replacements: 16. Alfie Longstaff, 17. Will Conduit, 18. Sam Graham, 19. Tayo Adegbemile, 20. Connor Treacey, 21. Jack Lightbown, 22. Dom Hanson, 23. Louie Platt, 24. Toby Wilson, 25. Billy Pasco, 26. Finn Newton.