SA u18 ‘A’ too good for Georgia in series opener
The South Africa Under-18 ‘A’ side started the u18 International Series on a high note for the host nation as they beat Georgia by 20-3 thanks to a strong second-half performance at Stellenberg High School field in Cape Town on Monday afternoon.
The South Africans took a slender 6-3 advantage into the break after flyhalf Luan Giliomee slotted two mid-range penalty goals after his Georgian counterpart, Gigi Sirbiladze, gave his side a 3-0 lead when the SA side was penalised for offside.
The first half was an even affair, with the Georgians showing plenty of determination on defence in response to several South African attacks.
The European team had the upper hand at the breakdown, slowing the ball enough, or spoiling it on several occasions, to blunt a number of promising SA attacks. The hosts showed plenty of enterprise with ball in hand, but try as they might, they couldn’t bridge the stubborn Georgian defence.
Playing with a strong breeze in their favour in the second half, the SA ‘A’ side made the most of their opportunities to score two converted tries to take the game away from the gritty Georgians.
After a sustained period of pressure, SA fullback Dylan Miller went over to stretch their lead to 13-3. With the generous breeze in their favour and the replacement forwards adding fresh aggression, the South Africans dominated the rest of the game, earning a few penalties at scrum time and going close to scoring on a number of occasions.
They eventually breached the Georgian line for a second time when replacement outside back Brooklyn Newman crossed over for another converted try to take the final score to 20-3.
Earlier in the day, Ireland kicked off the tournament with an impressive 42-28 win over England, this after the Irish led 21-7 at halftime.
The second round takes place at Paarl Gimnasium on Friday when Georgia and England meet in the first fixture at 13h30, followed by the clash between the SA U18s and Ireland at 15h30.
Scorers:
South Africa ‘A’ 20 (6) – Tries: Dylan Miller, Brooklyn Newman. Conversions: Luan Giliomee (2). Penalties: Giliomee (2). Georgia 3 (3) – Penalty: Gigi Sirbiladze.
