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Ireland stun Baby Boks

Stellenbosch - South Africa went down in a shock 23-19 defeat at the hands of Ireland in their opening match of the IRB Junior World Championship here at the Danie Craven Stadium on Monday night.

The Irish led 13-3 at the break and managed to score a try in each half, whereas South Africa relied heavily on the boot of flyhalf Tony Jantjies to keep their hopes of victory alive.

The Baby Boks started off as if they would take Ireland apart with strong ball carries and their physical approach seemingly giving them the edge.

They secured territorial advantage but did not translate it to points and after camping in the Irish 22m area for some six minutes they had only a single Jantjies penalty, in the 11th minute, to show for their efforts (3-0).

After Ireland had held out on defence, they broke out with effect as the pressure they exerted saw the Baby Boks infringe at the breakdown.

In the space of nine minutes flyhalf JJ Hanrahan was twice on target with penalties from 30m out, which allowed the visitors to take the lead for the first time in the match.

As it turned out, the Irish never again relinquished the lead in the half as the Boks lost their rhythm.

Some 10 minutes ahead of the break the 12 000-strong crowd went silent as South Africa suffered another setback when openside flanker Jordon Coglan romped in for the first try of the match.

Hanrahan added the conversion from the touchline to open up a commanding 13-3 lead, which they held till half-time.

The Baby Boks were off to a sluggish start in the second period but they soon turned that around and the Irish tryline was under siege eight minutes after the break.

The pressure took its toll as lock Paul Willemse crashed over for a converted try and the score seemed to lift the Boks' play considerably in the ensuing minutes.

The Irish managed to sneak into the SA half when they looked under the whip and Hanrahan snapped over a drop goal to open up a six-point lead.

Jantjies was twice on target with long-range penalty attempts and with 16 minutes left the scores were level at 16-all. But nine minutes before the final whistle, flanker Conor Gilsenan rounded off a great driving maul with a converted to put Ireland back on top.

A late Jantjies penalty could not change South Africa's fate as the Irish celebrated one of their finest victories.

Scorers:

South Africa: Try: Paul Willemse. Conversion: Tony Jantjies. Penalties: Jantjies (4).

Ireland: Tries: Jordon Coglan, Conor Gilsenan. Conversions: JJ Hanrahan (2). Penalties: Hanrahan (2). Drop goal: Hanrahan.

Baby Boks team:

15. Dillyn Leyds (Western Province), 14. Paul Jordaan (Sharks), 13. Pat Howard (Western Province), 12. Jan Serfontein (Blue Bulls), 11. Raymond Rhule (Free State), 10. Tony Jantjies (Blue Bulls), 9. Abrie Griesel (Blue Bulls), 8. Fabian Booysen (Golden Lions), 7. Wiaan Liebenberg (Blue Bulls, captain), 6. Shaun Adendorff (Blue Bulls), 5. Pieter Steph du Toit (Sharks), 4. Paul Willemse (Golden Lions), 3. Allan Dell (Sharks), 2. Mark Pretorius (Golden Lions) 1. Steven Kitshoff (Western Province)

Substitutes:: 16. Jason Thomas (Blue Bulls), 17. Oliver Kebble (Western Province) , 18. Ruan Botha (Golden Lions), 19. Braam Steyn (Sharks), 20. Vian van der Watt (Golden Lions), 21. Handré Pollard (Western Province), 22. Tshotsho Mbovane (Western Province), 23. Maks van Dyk (Sharks)

IRB Junior World Championship results on Monday:

Pool A

Wales 44 Fiji 18
New Zealand 63 Samoa 0

Pool B

England 64 Italy 5
South Africa 19 Ireland 23

Pool C

Australia 67 Scotland 12
France 15 Argentina 18
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