Australia have fallen to England 17-13 in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship and are out of the running for the tournament’s semi-finals.
The Australians led the English for 65 minutes but went down thanks to two late penalty goals.
The loss was the Aussies’ second from three pool games in Manchester, meaning they will now face Scotland again in the fifth-place playoff.
If they defeat Scotland, which they couldn’t do in their group encounter, they will likely take on New Zealand.
“We are disappointed that we could not get the required result against England and will once again have to face the battle for fifth,” said coach Adrian Thompson.
“We started the match well but took the pressure off in parts of the match and England capitalised on those errors.
“I was impressed with the team’s character to hang in there for the full 80 minutes but ultimately we need to be better at finishing our opposition off when we have the chance.
“We will dust ourselves off and get ready for an incredibly strong battle to finish fifth with New Zealand, Wales and Scotland.”
It is a disappointing end to what has been a disappointing tournament for the Under-20s.
Australia showed promise against England but mistakes and wobbles in the set piece cruelled their chances.
Australia couldn’t have started the first half at the AJ Bell Stadium any better, as England split the ball from the kick off and the green and gold scored three phases later.
It was a dream start after 28 seconds and Australia was 7-0 up, but England responded quickly, clawing a penalty back.
A real battle developed at scrum time and tensions boiled after England won one against the feed.
In the 27th minute the Aussies re-established their seven-point lead with another penalty goal, but England returned fire three minutes later to make it 10-6.
Australia had been starved off field position after the opening minute, but finally they started to enjoy some at the end of the first half. This resulted in another penalty – which Mack Mason slotted – and the Antipodeans went into the break 13-6 in front.
In the second half the handling errors grew, killing any rhythm or flow to the game.
In the 52nd minute the hosts’ fly-half Harry Mallinder grubbered in behind and centre Joe Marchant was first to the ball. It was a well-worked move and the score was now 13-11, with Mallinder unable to convert.
Australia had most of the running play, with England’s defence severely tested, but the men in white’s line speed stifled the Aussie attack.
The scrums maintained previous intensity, the young Wallabies struggling to keep their own feed. Often the referee changed his mind when making decisions at scrums, baffling both teams. But Australia’s discipline started to become a problem and penalties mounted up against them.
England missed one shot at goal but made no mistake in the 65th minute, Mallinder giving them a one-point lead.
The Aussie lineout was also creaking, depriving them of vital possession. An Australian error at the breakdown near their own line gave England another penalty and another three points.
Caught in their own half for the final quarter, the visitors ran out of time. 17-13 with seven minutes left seemed like a mountain to climb.
Essentially, Australia ran out of puff in the final 15 minutes, and England closed out the game efficiently.
Captain James Tuttle said after the match, “We took the foot off the throat there in the second half and that let England back into the game.
“They played smart, kicked some penalties and that let them back into the match.
“The boys have a lot of pride every time we put this jersey on and we know we are representing everyone back home. We’ll review and get ready for our next match.”
Two losses in three pool games is not good enough for Australia at this level, even considering the unpredictability of results at the Under-20 age group. The Aussies have finished fifth in the past two tournaments, in Italy and New Zealand, and seventh and eighth before that.
While the introduction of an Under-20 Super Rugby competition at home is a good start, it’s clear that more work in youth development needs to be done.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
ClarkeG
Guest
I probably think its just simply a policy decision that was made regards Ioane. The sevens contenders will no doubt be in camp as we speak so the Olympic campaign gets priority I guess.
stillmissit
Roar Guru
Not encouraging, I didn't think either team were that good. -Lousy coaching AGAIN! -Slow game did not suit Aust and they did not have control of the ruck to speed the game up. -Average to poor halfback. 5/8 had a better game. -No support for the runner or the kicks. -No offloads -5-6 players trying hard the rest just going enough not to get dropped. At one stage a backrower was slowly ambling back whilst the English were attacking 6-8m from our line. This is not good enough if you watch schoolboy rugby it is played at high speed and there was our U20's lumbering around.
CUW
Guest
IM WITH U in the u20, italy had a prop who would look like a crowley (physically). in fact even the commentry was saying he looks more like a flank than a prop - tall lean and not very heavy, but he was good at scrums and quick around the park. the italian pack was very good at scrums, but were not so good among backs. the england, ireland wales italy and argie packs were very good at set pieces. one problem with u20 is, u can only watch one game - since 2 games are kicked off at same time. i shud have watched the saffers v france game- the scoreline was more interesting :)
CUW
Guest
i know, but auzzy let their u20 boy winger from 7s team play here. and scotland are taking their 7s wing for tests. hoyland (i think is his name) leone nakarawa and samisoni viriviri are playing tests despite being in fiji 7s squad. nakarawa a probable in the 12, viriviri , maybe ( but he was mvp in 7s in 2014) . maybe they are afraid of injuries , but then rugger is such that u can get injured in the first minute and sit out a season. ask mr. curry. :)
ClarkeG
Guest
reiko committed to sevens olympic campaign
Richard
Guest
I`ll give you two examples of former wallaby props and how the decline in technique has been rapid since 2000.. Dan Crowley 98 kilos .. 1989 1999 ( excellent at scrumtime ) Al Baxter 118 kilos... 2002 2011 ( eats grass at scrumtime ) It`s all about technique..
Degsy
Guest
To be fair, in the first half I thought they had the nudge on the England pack and that was reflected in the penalty count.
Daveski
Guest
Different sport Ken
CUW
Guest
dude dead weight does nothing for the pack. look at skelton with or without the packs. there is no marked difference at scrums. first its technique , then the weight accentuates the technique. just plain weight would not do much against a technically superiror scrum. nz had like 45 killos over georgia, still got shoved off own ball and opposing ball.
Ozrugbynut
Guest
68 kegs? Sheesh that's embarrassing. Wish we could get the scrum sorted from juniors up. Just needs a little focus?!
CUW
Guest
sam nock , flanker \jacobson, shaun stevenson, no8 and the captain (hooker) looked promising for higher level. stevenson cut thru wales as he did against irish but lacked support. other guys looked good for the agegroup but not more. dont think u will get a vintage like 2011 again for a long time. maybe there ae better guys even now , but just not getting selected or not playing atm. i wonder why reiko did not go. the auzzy let their wing play so...
CUW
Guest
funny how both the NZ and Auzzy u20 teams got roasted at scrums. auzzy had 68killos weight advantage over the england pack but still got shoved off their own ball. nz also had a big pack but were hammered by all 3 teams - georgia ireland and wales and were just ok at lineouts. auzzy scored a great try - almost a replica of the foley try in the first minute of the game. after that they just could not get anything going. at least it was not in that match , unlike nz v wales. somehow despite having better handling skills auzzy lacked ideas to get close.
Squirrel
Guest
They were awful and predictable
ken
Guest
No surprise, all the best 18 19 and 20 year olds are playing NRL TOYOTA CUP ..
Gavin
Guest
Outstanding effort, would be great if they could win one more game. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Bakkies
Guest
Australia had a much bigger pack than England which is rare to say as the English have huge under age packs but still got done in set pieces. The ARU after years of failure haven't learnt that it is down to technique. The Irish get dominated at set piece in the Six Nations under 20s tournament against big technical packs so have to work hard on it leading in the JWC dominated NZ at scrum and lineout time. NZ won it last year but it was hardly a vintage crop and papered over the cracks. They relied on three stand out players, two of them in the backrow that the English couldn't handle in the Final. There hasn't been a standout NZ under 20s team since 2011.
DJW
Guest
Set piece problems at under 20 level as well.