Australia stage stunning fightback to down Junior Boks

TimesLIVE

06-05-2025

Australia produced a stunning second-half fightback to beat a shell-shocked Junior Bok team 29-24 in a thrilling Under-20 Rugby Championship clash in Gqeberha on Tuesday.
When the Boks moved into a commanding 17-0 shortly after half time, they appeared to be in the driving seat against the Australians at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The resolute Australians, however, had other ideas and moved through the gears, scoring four second-half tries to win their first game at the tournament after a draw against New Zealand in the opening round.
Australian fullback Sid Harvey put the game out of South Africa's reach when he kicked a penalty in the 75th minute.
The Boks refused to lie down and burly loose forward Batho Hlekani gave his team a glimmer of hope with a late try in the 78th. However, it was too little, too late, and the Australians hung on to clinch a nail-biting win over their old rivals.
In Australia's sensational revival, Eamon Doyle, Edwin Langi, Lapina Ata and Xavier Rubens all went over for tries to leave the Boks reeling.
Next up for the Boks is a showdown on Sunday against arch-rivals New Zealand, who trounced Argentina in the early game of Tuesday's double header.
The Boks came flying out of the starting blocks in the first half and were rewarded for their dominance when loose forward Xola Nyali powered his way over the Australian line.
Flyhalf Vusi Moyo slotted the conversion to put South Africa ahead 7-0 after two minutes, thanks to an energetic start that left Australia on the back foot.
After the frenetic early action, the game lost momentum with both teams struggling with their accuracy and handling.
The game burst back into life in the 28th minute when Bok speedster Siya Ndlozi pounced on an Australian error to score a breakaway try against the run of play.
Australia were under pressure in the 34th minute when they were reduced to 14 men after Argentinian referee Thomas Bartazza yellow-carded prop Trevor King for repeated scrum infringements.
The Junior Boks threatened to score a third try just before half time but a promising attack ended after a handling error close to the Australian try line.
Shortly afterwards, a bustling Nyali thought he had a second try, but it was disallowed because of a line-out obstruction.
Two minutes after the break the Boks extended their lead to 17-0 when Moyo kicked a penalty to give his team extra breathing space.
Australia were gaining momentum and scored a try in the 46th when lock Doyle burst through the Bok defence after a line-out maul.
In the first game of the day, New Zealand crushed Argentina 75-21 after they were held to a dramatic draw by Australia in their opening game last week.
Thanks to a dominant all-round display, the New Zealanders outscored their opponents by 11 tries to three in a lopsided encounter.