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Four tries from winger Keelan Farrell inspired the USA to a 44-33 victory over the Netherlands in the opening round of the World Rugby u20 Trophy on Tuesday. A scorching first half put the game beyond reach for the Dutch youngsters, but they will take credit for a much improved second half showing that made for some uneasy moments for the Americans.
Corbin Smith opened the scoring with an early penalty goal, and then came the first sign of Farrell’s pace. The winger burst onto a pass from Graeme Pedegana for a 40-meter run-in. Dylan Fortune was next to cross, barging in from close range with the extras from Smith making it 15-nil after 20 minutes.
The next score was a spectacular end-to-end sprint by Farrell that left the orange jerseys for dead. Joris Smits got the Netherlands on the board when he spun away from a driving maul, the first of three tries the impressive flanker would capture.
Farrell had his hat-trick by the half-hour mark, swerving in against the grain to break the line before pulling away. Smits had his double after a yellow card to Jordan Vassel reduced the Americans to 14 men. With the winger still in the bin, Pedegana galloped into the corner after a line break from Rand Santos. Farrell had his fourth on the end of a cross-kick from Santos that bounced kindly and the USA took a 41-12 lead into the intermission.
It was a very different second half, when the bigger Dutch forwards gained superiority, both at the set piece and the tight-loose. Fortune was binned for cynical play while defending his goal line and flanker Mart van der Veen blasted over seconds later.
Giant Brive academy lock Teun Karst powered over just after the hour mark for a fourth Dutch try. Ollie Cline broke up the orange wave with a penalty goal, but it was only a temporary reprieve as Smits grabbed his third with Ilan Vaasen’s fourth conversion closing the gap. The USA would end the game on attack with a snap drop goal attempt by Cline drifting wide of its target.
Next up for the Americans is a pivotal clash with South American rivals Uruguay on Sunday, a contest that could well decide who tops Pool B and earns a place in the Final. The Netherlands will square off against Kenya, who were beaten convincingly by Los Teritos on Tuesday.
| SCORING |
NETHERLANDS 33
Tries (5) – J. Smits 3 (28′, 34′, 72′), M. van der Veen (46′), T. Karst (61′)
Cons (4) – I. Vaasen 4/5 (35′, 47′, 62′, 73′)
USA 44
Tries (6) – K. Farrell 4 (12′, 22′, 30′, 39′), D. Fortune (18′), G. Pedegana (37′)
Cons (4) – C. Smith 4/6 (19′, 23′, 31′, 40′)
Pens (2) – C. Smith 1/1 (4′), O. Cline 1/1 (69′)
DG (0) – O. Cline 0/1
YC (2) – J. Vassel (32′), D. Fortune (46′)
| TEAMS |
NETHERLANDS
1 Ahmet Onolan, 2 Guus Henkes, 3 Robbin Hakkert, 4 Teun Karst, 5 Rembrandt Siebenga, 6 Mart van der Veen, 7 Joris Smits, 8 Gabriel Cahsay, 9 Warrick Jones, 10 Steven Fuchs, 11 Kit Temperley (capt.), 12 Tobias Nota, 13 Rory Crum, 14 Jules Swier, 15 Ilan Vaasen
Replacements: 16 Tom van Oooijen, 17 Nordin Geels, 18 Toine Obieng Nguema, 19 Cle Teunissen, 20 Tobias de Prieële, 21 Kees de Bruin, 22 Niek Doornenbal, 23 Tom Molhoek
USA
1 Asbjorn Ross, 2 Cade Crist (co-capt.), 3 Asa Rosenmeier, 4 George Engels, 5 Braemar Murray, 6 Graeme Pedegana, 7 Logan Ballinger, 8 Dylan Fortune, 9 Solomon Williams, 10 Rand Santos, 11 Keelan Farrell, 12 Max Threlkeld, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Jordan Vassel, 15 Corbin Smith
Replacements: 16 Seth Smith, 17 John-Henry Rouse, 18 Luke Schaefer, 19 Miles Malone, 20 Daniel Lowther, 21 Judd Berman, 22 Ollie Cline, 23 Tito Edjua
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Tuesday, July 2
Venue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
Kickoff: 19:45 local
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Morgan White (Hong Kong)
| HIGHLIGHTS |
