BMW Australia U20s win tight tussle against Fiji U20s
The BMW Australia U20s have emerged victorious despite a late surge from Fiji, to win 32-24 in round two of the Oceania Rugby U20s Championship on the Gold Coast on Tuesday night.
Australia was disappointing in their second match of the Championship with handling errors and set piece issues preventing the side from hitting their straps.
Two late injuries reduced the Australian U20s to 13 men for the final moments of the match, creating headaches in defence.
Australia will now face New Zealand U20s in the final round of the Oceania Rugby U20s Championship on Saturday 6 May from 7 pm, with the match to be streamed LIVE on www.rugby.com.au.
BMW Australia U20s Head Coach Simon Cron said: “We are very disappointed with the performance we put out on the park tonight.
“We tried a few new things today in terms of the playing group but patterns haven’t changed from what we played the other day. It was a team of individuals out there.
“We took on a Fijian team here who were upbeat, excited to play and proud to wear their jersey. We became a little bit individual.
“We had guys who worked really hard including Reece Hewat, Liam Wright, Angus Scott-Young, however, our basic skills were not up to scratch. These guys have to learn how to perform.
“As a coach, I’ve got to fix that, that’s my job. I’ve got to make better Rugby players.”
The early stages of the match saw both packs looking to dominate the set piece as they tried to establish dominance.
Australia’s scrum was powerful early on and Captain Reece Hewat scored the first points of the match when he dived over the line in the 9th minute to give Australia a 7-0 lead.
Fiji was a significantly improved outfit from the side that fell to New Zealand in the opening round of the Championship, with the Pacific Islanders dominating possession and territory throughout the first half.
Australia’s defence was tested for multiple phases as the flying Fijians attacked from all over the field.
A penalty through the boot of Harry Nucifora and a try to Efitusi Maafu gave Australia a 15-0 lead. On the cusp of half-time, Fiji earned a penalty to take the score to 15-3 as both sides headed to the sheds.
The second half saw Fiji shoot out of the blocks with a try to Salimoni Tukania as they capitalised on the momentum they had earned in the first half, taking the score to 15-10.
Australia fought hard to get back into the match before Harry Nucifora slotted a penalty to extend their lead to 18-10. As Australia’s superior fitness came into the play, the men in gold scored two tries through Efitusi Maafu and Theo Strang, to move the scoreboard to 32-10.
As the Australian bench was emptied, injury struck Ryan Lonergan and Reece Hewat who left the field of play leaving the defence two men short.
Fiji finished the game strongly as they attacked the Australian line, scoring two late tries to take the score to 32-24.
Despite the late surge, Australia had enough points on the board to take the match and ensure they made it two wins for 2017.
Australia will play New Zealand on Saturday 6 May at Bond University Rugby Club kicking off at 7 pm AEST.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
9 mins: Reece Hewat, Harry Nucifora con, AUS 7-0 FIJI
28 mins: Harry Nucifora pen, AUS 10-0 FIJI
34 mins: Efitusi Maafu try, AUS 15-0 FIJI
40 mins: Dulaki Vukatvo pen AUS 15-3 FIJI
HALF TIME:
41 mins: Salimoni Tukania try, Viliame Botitu con AUS 15-10 FIJI
55 mins: Harry Nucifora pen, AUS 18-10 Fiji
64 mins: Efitusi Maafu try, Harry Nucifora con AUS 25-10 FIJI
69 mins: Theo Strang try, Harry Nucifora con AUS 32-10 FIJI
76 mins: Luke Tagi try, Viliame Botitu con AUS 32-17 FIJI
80 mins: Apisalome Bogidrau try, Viliame Botitu con AUS 32-24 FIJI
Australia 32 (Reece Hewat, Efitusi Maafu 2, Theo Strang tries; Harry Nucifora 3 cons; Harry Nucifora 2 pens) defeated Fiji 24 (Salimoni Tukania, Luke Tagi, Apisalome Bogidrau tries; Viliame Botitu 3 cons; Dulaki Vukatvo pen)
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