Written by @QuintenLetcher for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
England vs South Africa | Friday 20 June | Eden Park | 09:35
The seventh IRB Junior World Championship wraps up in Auckland this Friday as defending champions England take on an impressive Baby Bok side in this year’s title decider. England’s young talent left little to chance in their semi-final encounter against neighbouring northerners Ireland, crashing over the whitewash a phenomenal four times in an enthralling first half that had the game all but wrapped up at the break. A far more passionate Ireland returned from the interval, their gallant performance in the final 40 minutes had them outscore the Poms two tries to one, but ultimately did little to negate the crippling 31-point deficit incurred in the first half.
The Junior Springboks took a slightly rougher route to the final, needing to pull off an improbable second victory in just nine days over host nation New Zealand in order to advance to the title decider. The Baby Blacks proved a far tougher opponent than they had in their 24-33 loss to the South Africans in the pool stages, and made their retribution-seeking intentions perfectly clear from the get-go when hooker Hame Faiva sped down the touchline to draw first blood just four minutes in. That explosive intensity continued throughout the match, but with the scoreboard locked at 25-points apiece in the dying minutes, the Baby Boks managed to sidestep the impending sudden-death tiebreaker with a last-gasp try to claim a 32-25 victory at QBE Stadium.
To Win (80mins)
England 11/10
South Africa 8/10
Draw 20/1
Handicaps
England (+1) 9/10
South Africa (-1) 9/10
Draw 16/1
England
Evasive Saracens winger Nathan Earle has already picked up five tries in this year’s competition, and will be out hunting for a few more this Friday to help persuade the judges of the IRB Junior Player of the Year award that he is the cream of this year’s crop. Other English players to watch out for this week are powerful lock partners Maro Itoje and Charlie Ewels, and Freddie Burns’ younger sibling Billy, who had an impressive run at flyhalf against the Irish last week and has picked up 34-points in his three appearances in the competition so far.
South Africa
With the Rugby World Cup just over a year away, Dawie Theron’s youngsters have chosen the perfect opportunity to throw their names in the hat for the prestige event taking place in England next August. The most impressive of the Baby Boks has to be skipper Handre Pollard, his 17-point haul against New Zealand making him the top point scorer in the competition’s history. This is the young Blue Bulls flyhalf’s third Junior World Championship and his second appearance in the competition’s final, and he was appropriately nominated on Tuesday for the IRB Junior Player of the Year 2014 award. Other players to watch out for this Friday are burly Sharks centre Andre Esterhuizen, EP Kings’ speedy winger Sergeal Petersen and eighthman Aidon Davis.
VERDICT: South Africa 8/10
It is pretty hard not to back the side that had to defeat the Baby Blacks twice in their own back yard to reach the finals. The defending champs have had an amazing run so far in the competition, but almost came unstuck against Argentina in their final pool match after deciding to rest most of their big guns, managing to secure a narrow 17-16 victory. The Junior Springboks, on the other hand, have secured far more convincing victories on their way to the final, with last week’s 32-25 victory over New Zealand being their smallest winning margin so far. A fierce contest is certain, but I’m expecting the South Africans to come away with a narrow victory to claim the coveted silverware.
Think we’ve got it wrong? Well leave your comments below and tell us how you think this is going to play out.
