U19 2007 RWC - England vs Argentina Nailbiter
8 Apr 2007
England and Argentina went into their Division A encounter at Deramore, Belfast Harlequins in the knowledge that victory would edge them closer to a semi final spot at the IRB Under 19 World Championship 2007.
Both sides had won their opening games against Samoa and Argentina respectively and it was England who held on for a narrow 17-15 victory in a tight game that saw the teams perform in front of a large crowd with plenty of vocal encouragement.
England opened the scoring in the 10th minute when captain and number 8 Hugo Ellis touched down after his pack drove the ball over from a five-metre lineout with Argentina unable to repel the drive.
Argentina, though, responded well to going behind and pressure exerted on the England scrum resulted in turnover ball, which scrum half Martin Landajo fed out to wing Ignacio Poet Belmonte for him to sprint in from the 22 metre line.
Tense finish
With half time approaching England extended their lead when centre Alex Tait, brother of full international Mathew, raced in to give his side a 14-5 advantage at the break with Alex Goode having converted both this and Ellis’ try.
The second half was a tighter affair with Goode kicking a penalty after eight minutes stretching England’s lead to 17-5, but Argentina were not finished and Belmonte responded with a penalty before Guillermo Roan set up a nervous finish with a try.
Belmonte converted to cut the deficit to only two points, but England managed to hold out for the victory and now face New Zealand, who currently head the standings after beating Japan 107-6, in their final pool match at Ravenhill on Friday.
Argentina picked up a bonus point from this game, so have six points from their two matches and need to beat Wales and secure another bonus point at Shaw’s Bridge on the same night to boost their chances of reaching the semi finals.
QUOTES
Argentina coach Patricio Noriega: “We were disappointed to lose, but I thought that we played well without getting the result. We know that we need to win our final game but the bonus point that we earned tonight may well be vital. We achieved many of our objectives but will need to be on top form for the last game.”
England head coach Nigel Redman: “We are pleased that we fought out a win against an Argentinean side that never gave up. You have to give full credit to them. I think that our preparations [for our next game] will include a look at a video of New Zealand and we will work to try to eliminate the errors that were evident in the game this evening.”
England captain Hugo Ellis: “That was a very tough match, but we fought hard and came out on the right side. I was pleased to score a try but it was a case of being in the right place at the right time. Scoring from a yard out has become a trademark of mine.”
