- England beaten by South Africa in 3rd/4th play-off at JWC
- Watson, Burns and Marler grab tries in defeat
England U20 22 South Africa U20 27
England’s Under 20s were forced to settle for fourth place at the IRB Junior World Championship after being overhauled in the second half by a sharp South Africa side in Rosario, Argentina.
London Irish wing Marcus Watson, Gloucester fly half Freddie Burns and Harlequins prop Joe Marler all scored tries in 20 first-half minutes with Burns converting twice.
But Harlequins’ Rory Clegg’s late penalty was all they managed to add to the total as South Africa – beaten by England in the last two JWC semi finals – struck back despite having to survive spirited attacks from deep in the closing stages.
Replacement wing Sibusiso Sithole scored in each half, his predecessor Nico Scheepers grabbed the opener and full back Patrick Lambie scored a try, two conversions and a penalty.
It was a disappointing way for a talented England side to bow out and head coach Mark Mapletoft now moves on to Harlequins with Rob Hunter taking charge next season, assisted by Diccon Edwards.
But plenty of the players in the class of 2010 – including the likes of Wasps wing Christian Wade, Newcastle No.8 Alex Gray and Harlequins lock Charlie Matthews – should be back in harness next season.
England had built up a 19-12 interval lead with three sparkling tries as they dominated the set pieces and attacked sharply down the flanks.
Wings Scheepers and his early replacement Sithole scored for the junior Springboks but Wade’s dazzling burst and Tom Casson’s assist created a first try for Watson 13 minutes in.
Burns converted and England seized control with their forward power and a series of scrums and line outs deep in the junior Springboks’ territory.
Burns cut back to weave his way past half-a-dozen defenders at close quarters, then added the extra points to his own score 10 minutes later before Marler blasted into the corner for the third with hooker Jamie George providing a clever assist.
Springboks surge forward in second period
Their forward dominance could have put them out of sight but it was a different story after the break as South Africa picked up the tempo and took advantage of some defensive uncertainty to strike twice in 15 minutes.
Full back Lambie went in under the posts and Sithole squeezed into the corner for his second, Lambie supplying a superb touchline conversion.
England lost Burns to a calf injury midway through the half but reshuffled their backline effectively with Rory Clegg taking over as the main playmaker and stepped up again with a series of attacks.
They were halted only by two final passes going astray before Clegg’s penalty pulled them back to within two points going into the last 10 minutes.
Lambie, though, added a straightforward three points five minutes from time, leaving England needing to claim their fourth try in the closing stages.
Twice they broke through the middle only to turn the ball over in contact and were still attacking with the final play when Marler ran out of room on the left within 10 metres of the line.
England U20 vs South Africa U20
England U20: Tom Homer (London Irish); Christian Wade (London Wasps), Jonny May (Gloucester), Tom Casson (Harlequins); Marcus Watson (London Irish), Freddie Burns (Gloucester), Sam Harrison (Leicester Tigers); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Jamie George (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Bristol), Calum Green (Leicester Tigers), George Kruis (Saracens), Will Welch (Newcastle Falcons), Jacob Rowan (Leeds Carnegie, captain), Jamie Gibson (London Irish)
Replacements: Rob Buchanan (Harlequins) for George 56, Shaun Knight (Gloucester) for Vunipola 45, Charlie Matthews (Harlequins) for Kruis 51, Alex Gray (Newcastle Falcons) for Welch 65, Charlie Davies (Stade Francais) for Harrison 51, Rory Clegg (Harlequins) for Casson 53, Sam Smith (Harlequins) for Burns 60.
South Africa: Patrick Lambie; Nico Scheepers, Jaco Taute, Francois Venter, Wandile Mjekevu; Elton Jantjies, Louis Schreuder; Wessel Du Rand, Monde Hadebe, Marcel Van Der Merwe, Keny Okafor, Sebastian De Chaves, Siya Kolisi, Hendrik Van Der Walt, CJ Stander (captain).
Replacements: Francois Du Toit, Ruan Dreyer, Mlungisi Bali, Lubabalo Mtembu, Luaan Jacobs, Branco Du Preez, Sibusiso Sithole.