IRB Video: Highlights of the 5th Place play-off between France U20 and Australia U20
The first half performance from Australia was effectively enough for them to secure the win as they played with a stiff breeze and raced into a 30-point lead at the break. France were a different side in the second half, but had left themselves a mountain to climb and ultimately came up just short.
Australia fly half Quade Cooper kicked a first minute penalty and then a slick backline move brought the first try as centre Rob Horne put his lightning-quick wing Ratu Nasiganiyavi into space for a simple run in.
Cooper kicked the conversion and before the 10-minute mark had been reached on the clock Australia led 17-0 after right wing Junior Sovala Futi picked up a loose ball and dived under the posts for his fifth try of the tournament.
The Australians were completely in the ascendancy as they hassled France off their own scrums and turned defence into attack deep in their opponent’s territory. Another Cooper penalty gave them a 20-0 lead after 23 minutes as the margin looked unassailable for France.
A tough task seemingly became mission impossible when Australia made the most of a turnover and Nasiganiyavi out-sprinted the defence for his second try before the half hour. The giant wing then completed his hat-trick before the break when his pace took him over again.
France did their best to come out firing in the second half and their efforts paid off when flanker Louis Madaule split the defence for a 49th-minute try as they finally managed to string some good phases together.
It got better for France when their other flanker Arthur Chollon scored another try following excellent driving forward play and fly half Mathieu Belie kicked the conversion to reduce the deficit to 30-14 as the hour mark approached.
Australia steadied the ship with a try from prop Ben Daley in the 69th minute, but France hit back with another try through their powerful centre Mathieu Bastareaud. Belie converted to make it 35-21, but that was as close as they came.
Cooper helped Australia finish the game on a high as he a made a number of superb breaks and Man of the Match Nasiganiyavi set up second row Rob Simmons for the final try of the game before the final whistle.
Australia Captain David Pocock said of his side’s victory: “It was good to get the win. That wind in the first half definitely helped us and we did well to hold France off in the second half. It’s been a good experience for us though we were hugely disappointed to lose to England. This has been a good opportunity for players who don’t have professional contracts to get their names out there.”
Australia Head Coach Brian Melrose added: “It was nice to finish off in that fashion. France are a top nation and both of us would be like to be playing later tonight but we proved we are one of the better sides. There was a massive wind but we got some good tries and we hung on the second half and pushed away at the end.”
Whilst France No.8 Raphael Lakafia: “We are very disappointed but today the goal was to play a good match. The beginning of the game was hard for us but we proved in the second half that we can play and we can score and we are not so bad. It was a pleasure for us to play in this tournament.”
