England U20 beaten by Boks in Summer Series opener
England U20 were beaten 22-30 by South Africa U20 in their Six Nations Summer Series opener in Verona.
South Africa got off to a quick start, scoring inside the opening three minutes, as wing Hartzenberg collected the cross field kick of his fly half Mngomezulu to dot down.
- England: Tries - Stewart, Ilone, Oresanya. Cons - Smith (2). Pens - Smith.
- South Africa: Tries - Hartzenberg (2), Steyn, Hanekom, Lange. Cons - Mngomezulu, Pens - Mngomezulu.
But England's response was immediate. Iwan Stephens danced around the Bok defence before a promising pass was swiped out of the air by Crone Rahl - he was shown a yellow card for the infringement.
Fly half Fin Smith opted for a line out from the resulting penalty, and England scored off the back of it via hooker John Stewart. Smith's extras made it 7-5.
Alan Dickens' men began to show their attacking flair, as Rekeiti Ma’asi-White and Ethan Grayson controlled the midfield, providing quick ball to George Hendy and Tom Litchfield in space, who beat defenders and made metres with ease.
South Africa had a try disallowed on the 25-minute mark, as scrum half Steyn obstructed opposite man Tom Carr-Smith from making a crucial tackle. But as half time approached, and both sides jostled for possession and territory, it was the Boks who capitalised - Steyn making up for his earlier error, to score South Africa's second try, making it 7-10 at the break.
Bafana Nhleko's men started the second half in similar fashion to the first, scoring early as number eight Hanekom was the benefactor of a well-worked team effort.
Smith then cut the deficit to five points, successfully converting a penalty from 30 metres out, but Hartzenberg claimed his second score on 54 minutes, and Mngomezulu's extras made it 10-22.
Captain Emeka Ilone bulldozed over for a try of his own, after running a superb support line off the shoulder of Litchfield, who broke the Bok line before offloading into the path of the Leicester Tigers man.
Smith's conversion was answered by a Mngomezulu penalty, and another South Africa try courtesy of replacement hooker Lange. A late Conor Oresanya score was to be a consolation, as England lost out 22-30.
Teams
England
15. George Hendy, 14. Tom Litchfield, 13. Ethan Grayson, 12. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11. Iwan Stephens, 10. Fin Smith, 9. Tom Carr-Smith, 1. Tumy Onasanya, 2. John Stewart, 3. Jevaughn Warren, 4. Ewan Richards, 5. Lewis Chessum, 6. Chandler Cunningham-South, 7. Emeka Ilione (c), 8. Greg Fisilau.
Replacements
16. Finn Theobald-Thomas, 17. Andrew Turner, 18. Mikey Summerfield, 19. Tom Lockett, 20. Lucas Brooke, 21. Ethan Staddon, 22. Toby Knight, 23. Charlie Bracken, 24. Jed Walsh, 25. Conor Oresanya, 26. Tobi Wilson.
South Africa
15. Koevort, 14. Don, 13. James, 12. Baines, 11. Hartzenberg, 10. Mngomezulu, 9. Steyn, 1. Nunu, 2. Vokozela, 3. Weilbach, 4. Evans, 5. Ludwig, 6. Ningiza, 7. Venter, 8. Hanekom.
Replacements
16. Lange, 17. Else, 18. Lombard, 19. Rahl, 20, Nel, 21. Khan, 22. Von Ludwig, 23, Nela, 24. Olivier, 25. De Villiers, 26. Moletshe.
Fixtures & Results
England 22 - 30 South Africa
29 June - England v France
5 July - England v Ireland
Play offs commence Tuesday 12 July.
