Sri Lanka
USA
Canada
India
UK
UAE
Australia have stunned South Africa 17-12 in a golden point epic to qualify for the Men’s Cup final at SVNS Perth on Australia Day. The Aussies stood tall in key moments during this semi-final to book a date with Argentina, which is a rematch of last year’s decider at HBF Park.
After falling to Argentina 31-26 in a golden point thriller to start their campaign, Australia were pipped by South Africa 10-7 in pool play before beating the USA 19-12. That was enough to see the men in gold through to the Cup quarter-finals – much to the delight of the home crowd.
Hayden Sargeant and Maurice Longbottom led the charge in the knockout rounds as they got the better of Olympic champions France by 12 points on Saturday. That set the stage for an enthralling semi-final clash against Cape Town winners South Africa.
Sam Cane after his 100th Test for the All Blacks and TJ Perenara after his last home game | All Blacks post-match
Sam Cane after his 100th Test for the All Blacks and TJ Perenara after his last home game talk to the media after the All Blacks 33-13 win over the Wallabies in Wellington.
Just as it had been in pool play, this match was thrilling, tense and tight. James Turner opened the scoring for the Aussies early on before 2024 Dream Team member Selvyn Davids hit back with an effort one minute later.
The two teams went into the sheds locked at 7-all. Davids managed to give the Blitzboks a hard-fought lead in the ninth minute before youngster Sidney Harvey hit back for the tournament hosts late in the contest – although Longbottom hit the post with the conversion attempt.
Longbottom had a chance to win it for Australia with the final play of the game after referee George Selwood pinned South Africa for an infringement at the breakdown. The playmaker lined up the shot at goal from a tough spot but failed to convert that attempt as well.
Aden Ekanayake won the restart and the Aussies controlled possession from there. With Ryan Oosthuizen receiving a yellow card, that didn’t help the Blitzboks’ cause as they went down to six men during a crucial period of this match.
In the end, it was that man again – Ekanayake – who once again made a game-changing play. The Australia U20 15s representative sliced through the defensive line to score the winner, and the crowd let out a deafening cheer of euphoria in reply.
Australia will take on Argentina to determine who is crowned the men’s champions at SVNS Perth, which was the same matchup in last year’s decider. 12 months ago, Argentina dominated the final as Marcos Moneta led the run to glory.
Now, Australia has a shot at redemption while Argentina are hoping to repeat history.
In their semi-final earlier on Sunday, Moneta scored a rapid hat-trick as the game quickly got away from Spain. Tobias Wade, Luciano Gonzalez and Agustin Fraga also contributed with a try – they were so dominant that a yellow card against Gonzalez didn’t matter in the end.
At full-time, the scoreboard read 40-5 in Argentina’s favour.
It was an utterly dominant performance from a side that has world-class quality across the park. Spain will take on South Africa to determine who finishes in third place in what should also be another enthralling clash.
