Outstanding No8 Zach Mercer scored a late try, which flyhalf Max Malins converted, to give England a narrow 24-22 win in a tense World Rugby Under-20 Championship semifinal in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Tuesday. England led 17-12 at halftime. The Junior Boks will rue a slew of mistakes that allowed England to stay in the game despite their set piece wilting under huge South African pressure. England enjoyed the bulk of ball, particularly in the first half, but were on the ropes for long periods of the second half. The Junior Boks, though, lacked the cutting edge that saw them smash Argentina in their final pool match five days earlier. SA No8 Juarno Augustus was equally impressive scoring two more tries to take his tournament tally to five, while the rest of the pack were immense. The Junior Bok backline, which has been a vaunted unit at these championships, did not have enough quality ball to test England’s defence and it was left to SA’s pack to do the damage. Flyhalf Curwin Bosch was u...
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