Australia U20s dust up Barbarians

Tue, May 24, 2016, 11:04 AM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman

Australia’s U20s World Championship warm up started perfectly, with a dominant 45-20 win over the Australian Barbarians.

Fielding a side without many of the stars that beat New Zealand earlier this month, the U20s held off a fast-finishing Barbarians side.

Up by nine points at half-time, the U20s made that margin 23 in the next 20 minutes, with some accurate kicking from flyhalf Bille Gray proving the difference.

The U20s weren’t afraid to assert their physicality early and they had the bulk of the territory, hammering the Barbarians’ line.

Melbourne Rebels youngster Rob Leota converted their pressure in the eighth minute, giving the U20s the early lead.

That was short-lived though, with two quick tries to Jeremy Skelton and Andrew Robinson for the Barbarians,  giving them a three-point lead midway through the first half.

Hooker Jordan Uelese clinched a second U20s try in the 30th minute, dotting down under a pack to give the youngsters back the lead.

Flanker Angus Scott-Young had two for the night, scoring the third try of the opening half and the final try of the night to seal the game for the U20s.

The youngsters put pressure on in the set piece, despite their inexperience, giving their side opportunity to score.

It took U20s winger Joey Fittock just two minutes after half-time to stretch the lead to 26-10, though another 15 for their fifth.

That one was worth the wait, with openside Ikapote Tupai stealing a turnover and crashing over to take the lead out to 23 points.

Late Barbarians tries to Matt Hayter and winger Larry Hermens weren’t enough to claw back the deficit.

Scott-Young's second and a final try after full-time to Liam McNamara sealed the big win for the U20s.

The Australia U20s play their second warm-up match on Saturday against NSW Country at Chatswood Oval, before leaving for Manchester on May 31. 

AUSTRALIA U20s 45

(Tries: Scott-Young 2, Leota, Uelese, Fittock, Tupai, cons: Gray 4, Nucifora )

Barbarians 20

(Tres: Skelton, Robinson, Hayter )

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