Strong First Half Gives South Africa Edge Over Ireland U18s
Ireland Under-18 Schools hooker Conor Magee is pictured in possession during their U-18 International Series opener against England in Cape Town ©Ashley Vlotman
A dominant first half performance laid the foundation for a well-deserved 38-26 victory for South Africa over Ireland in their first outing of the Under-18 International Series at Paarl Gimnasium in bright sunshine on Friday afternoon.
The SA U18s enjoyed a deserved 21-12 halftime lead after scoring three converted tries, while the Irish responded with two tries and a conversion during an enterprising first half before an appreciative crowd which included a sizable Irish contingent.
Both sides added two converted tries in the second half, which was characterised by a raft of replacements as both teams gave opportunities to their full squads. South Africa also landed a long-range penalty goal to ensure they finished well out of range of the powerful Irish side.
With Riley Norton (lock), who was named Player of the Match, leading the way, the hosts had the upper hand in the set pieces in the first half, with Ireland sloppy at lineout time which saw them losing three on the trot and a further four after the break.
However, the Irish had a complete reversal of fortunes in the scrum during the second half, when they made life difficult for the SA pack, especially after sending their replacement forwards onto the park.
Ireland who got off to the perfect start when Connor Magee (hooker) scored in the right-hand corner from a well-executed lineout maul to put them 5-0 ahead.
Five minutes later, from a stolen lineout and a clever kick ahead into the Irish 22, the SA U18s’ strong running centre Markus Muller went in under the posts for the hosts’ opening try, converted by flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed.
Shortly afterwards, South Africa went further ahead when the lively Ahmed was the architect of the second try, with a lovely break from a set piece to put Zekhethelo Siyaya (left wing) over under the uprights to stretch the hosts’ lead to 14-5.
Jack Deegan (centre) then reduced the deficit for the Irish with a converted try, but the South Africans didn’t waste time to cross for their third try – and Siyaya’s second – when the speedster gathered a clever grubber from the impressive Muller. Ahmed added the extras to stretch the SA advantage to 21-12 at the break.
With SA punished with two yellow cards and their replacements struggling to make an impact upfront, the Irish gained the ascendancy upfront, and Magee barged his way over for his second try, which was also converted to make it a two-point game.
But the SA U18 pack worked hard to stay in the fight, and captain Sethu Mnebelele capped a good performance with a try to edge his side 28-19 ahead with more than half of the second stanza remaining.
They then turned on the style when exciting outside back replacement Cheswill Jooste outstripped the defence on the left flank for another converted try, their fifth of the afternoon which was converted by fullback Akahluwa Boqwana.
Replacement back Vusi Moyo then landed a long-range penalty goal to take the game away from the Irish at 38-19 and despite a fourth Irish try, it was a deserved win for the SA U18s in their first outing of the tournament.
Earlier on Friday, England had to draw on all their reserves and produced a second-half masterclass as they wiped out a 20-10 deficit at the break to defeat a gritty Georgia 27-20 for their first win of the series.
The U18 International Series concludes next Tuesday when South Africa face England and Ireland take on Georgia at Paarl Boys’ High’s Brug Street fields.
Scorers:
South Africa 38 (21) – Tries: Markus Muller, Zekhethelo Siyaya (2), Sethu Mnebelele, Cheswill Jooste. Conversions: Yaqeen Ahmed (3), Akahluwa Boqwana (2). Penalty goal: Vusi Moyo.
Ireland 26 (12) – Tries: Conor Magee (2), Jack Deegan, Jamie Conway. Conversions: Tom Wood, Conor O’Shaughnessy (2).