NZ under-20s lose to Australia as World Rugby championship woes continue

New Zealand will play Georgia for 7th place in the World Rugby under-20 championship after a 44-35 loss to Australia overnight on Sunday (NZ time).

New Zealand started the game in perfect fashion as Crusaders winger Macca Springer scored after two minutes, but the game swung on a red card to Hawke’s Bay lock Tom Allen after 12 minutes.

Allen dumped Australia No 6 Lachlan Hooper on his head at a ruck, and was initially shown a yellow card.

However, it was upgraded to a red card under the review system in use at the tournament, with New Zealand reduced to 14 men for the majority of the contest.

New Zealand still managed to put up a fight at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, with tries to Caleb Tangitau (2), Malachi Alec-Wrampling and Jack Taylor giving them an unlikely shot at victory.

However, discipline continued to be their Achilles heel, with Alec- Wrampling and then replacement centre Xavi Taele sent to the sin bin, reducing the young New Zealanders to 13 men for almost a quarter of the game.

The numerical disadvantage eventually cost Clark Claidlaw’s side, and Australia No 9 Teddy Wilson sealed the game with a try in the 77th minute.

New Zealand will play Georgia on Saturday (NZ time) and they will be desperate to finish the disappointing campaign on a high.

They narrowly beat Wales in the pool stage, but a heavy loss to France meant that even a big win against Japan wasn’t enough to book a spot in the semifinals.

The New Zealand under-20s also suffered a loss to Australia in their two-game series in Wellington in May, so the loss in Cape Town was not unexpected.

New Zealand also finished 7th in the most recent under-20s championship, in 2019. A similar placing this year will put renewed scrutiny on the program, which has been overtaken by the best sides in the Six Nations.

Ireland and France will contest the final after beating hosts South Africa and England, respectively, in their semifinal clashes.