Hurricanes fullback sets up three tries in narrow New Zealand under-20 win

At Sky Stadium, Wellington: New Zealand 19 (Caleb Tangitau 19’ 38’, Macca Springer 30’ tries; Taha Kemara 2 con) Australia 18 (Massimo De Lutiis 55’, Henry O’Donnell 65’ tries; Jack Bowen con, 2 pen). HT: 19-6

Hurricanes fullback Harry Godfrey shone with three assists as the New Zealand under-20 men’s rugby team survived a tense second-half to beat the Junior Wallabies by the slimmest of margins in their second World Cup warm-up in Wellington on Saturday.

Clark Laidlaw’s team escaped with a narrow 19-18 win to bounce back from their defeat in the first match against the touring Australians on Monday, after they were kept scoreless in the second half at Sky Stadium.

New Zealand were under the pump for large periods of the game but emerged victorious after doing enough damage during a 20-minute first-half blitz.

New Zealand scored all of their points during that period with Godfrey having a hand in all three tries, two of which were scored by powerful All Blacks Sevens winger Caleb Tangitau.

Tangitau scored the first try of the game in the 19th minute when Godrey produced a cross field kick to the right and the No. 14 leapt high and scooped the ball out of the air.

Godfrey then sent Crusaders left-winger Macca Springer into the left corner after fending off Matias Jensen and drawing two defenders following an attacking scrum inside the Australia 22.

Tangitau struck again two minutes before halftime after Godfrey somehow managed to get an offload away as he went to ground in a tackle.

Tangitau still had a lot of work to do. He stepped inside Tom Morrison and rode a tackler across the try-line to give New Zealand a 19-6 halftime lead.

The Junior Wallabies dominated the second half but were left to rue a wayward conversion from Jack Bowen that struck the post from close range.

After conceding three first-half tries, they hit back in the 65th minute when prop Massimo De Lutiis crashed over from a pick and go following a sustained period of pressure.

A clever chip over the top from Bowen saw Henry O’Donnell score 10 minutes later, cutting the deficit to just one point and setting up a grandstand finish.

However, New Zealand hung on to claim a narrow win, giving them a boost of confidence less than one month out from the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in South Africa.