An 83rd minute try has allowed Australia U20s to escape with a 29-all draw against New Zealand U20s in the opening Rugby Championship U20 match at Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth).
Chris Whitaker’s side were in control heading into the break with a seven-point lead before three yellow cards in the space of 22 minutes allowed the Kiwis to take control.
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Winger Maloni Kunawave scored twice to erase the difference and take what looked to be a game-sealing lead before the Aussies rallied as the clock hit 80 minutes.
Inspirational captain Eamon Doyle gave Australia one last chance to strike, stealing a lineout down by seven after the full-time siren had sounded.
It allowed Australia to draw penalty after penalty and found the line via Beau Morrison and the rolling maul to give Australia a chance to tie it.
Up stepped Sevens young gun Sid Harvey, who nailed the conversion ten metres from the sideline to share the points.
The Kiwis dominated the opening minutes, and winger Harlyn Saunoa crossed for the opener after a smart quick tap from Dylan Pledger.
This didn’t faze the Australians, with centre Liam Grover picking up a loose ball and breaking through the defence to touch down for the response.
Lock Josh Tengblad looked to have restored the Kiwis' lead, but the TMO quickly intervened after a knock-on in the build-up.
This allowed the Aussies to settle as they started to control possession and the set-piece game, with the forward pack dominating over their Kiwi counterparts.
Captain Doyle was outstanding, whilst 18-year-old Eli Langi played well above his age.
It provided the chance for Harvey to give Australia the lead when flyhalf Joey Fowler threw the perfect cut-out ball to his winger.
The Kiwis produced something special to reduce the margin when some perfect passing from their backline allowed fullback Stanley Solomon to dive over in the corner.
But it was the Australians that went into the half up 17-10 after Harvey’s chip and chase delivered the perfect end to the half after the fullback re-gathered a loose tap back from the Kiwis and handed over to Grover for his second.
The turning point of the match came after the break as Fowler was yellow carded for a deliberate knockdown as the New Zealanders looked set to score.
The Kiwis capitalised on the numbers as winger Kunawave scored twice to take the lead.
With the momentum, the NZ side kept the pressure on and eventually drew another yellow card and a penalty try when Joe Mangelsdorf collapsed the maul illegally on the line.
Australia refused to give up and Trevor King provided impact off the bench with a key try to reduce the margin to seven with just under 20 minutes to go.
A third yellow card to James Martens for a cynical foul left them to defend with 13, but a big scrum penalty on Australia’s line alleviated the pressure and allowed them to survive.
Hunting for a leveller, the Aussies' desperate attempts were shut down by the Kiwis.
This included the Australians being held up and a late scrum five metres out, resulting in a NZ penalty.
When winger Cooper Watters was bundled into touch with 15 seconds to go, the result looked wrapped up before the magic of Doyle and the Australian pack delivered a remarkable draw.
Australia U20 29 (Grover 2, Harvey, King, Morrison tries; Harvey 2/5 cons) drew with New Zealand U20 29 (Kunawave 2, Saunoa, Solomon, Penalty Try tries; Solomon 1/4 cons)
