England retain junior rugby world title

Defending champions England have edged out South Africa 21-20 to keep hold of their Junior World Championship rugby crown.

England have held on in a tight arm wrestle to pip South Africa 21-20 in the Junior World Championship rugby final in Auckland and claim their second successive title.

South Africa, the 2012 champions of the under-20 tournament, had fought their way back to striking distance with 15 minutes to go at Eden Park.

A raid from a scrum inside the Junior Springboks' own half ended with centre Jesse Kriel's second try of the night and skipper Handre Pollard's conversion closed the gap to a point.

Five-eighth Pollard then had a medium-range drop-goal attempt to put his side in front, but pushed the chance just wide.

With time running out, England efficiently wound down the clock, clinging on to possession through numerous phases to get themselves home.

Kriel scored the game's opening try after latching on to a pinpoint Pollard chip to dot down.

Pollard's conversion made it 10-3 to South Africa, who had been dominating large parts of the first half.

But England put themselves back in touch thanks to a huge penalty from fullback Aaron Morris, who found the target from five metres inside his own half.

The English had been having problems winning their own lineout throw but, when they did manage to secure one just before halftime, they hit the front through a try to winger Nathan Earle.

Their lead opened out to eight points early in the second spell, after substitute flanker Joel Conlon scored from a lineout drive, before Kriel's second touchdown ensured a tense finish.


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