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The New Zealand under-20s have got their Rugby World Championship under way with a tight, mistake-ridden, 14-5 victory over Italy this morning.
At a hot and humid Calvisano, New Zealand, who won the U20s Rugby championship in South Africa last month, struggled to get their running game going and were second best at scrum time.
They also had to withstand two yellow cards – one for left wing Stanley Solomon for making contact with an opponent’s head in a ruck in the first half, and one for replacement lock Randall Baker for a similar offence in the final minutes.
However, their kicking game was far better than the hosts and it’s what kept them in the contest in the second half.
Fortunately, they began the final stanza with a two-try buffer thanks to an early rolling maul try for hooker Manumaua Letiu which was well converted by first-five Will Cole, with Pledger stealing through a gap near a breakdown to score under the posts to finish the half.
Minutes earlier, Pledger showed great pace and determination to make a try-saving tackle on Italy centre Federico Zanandrea.
Italy were the first to score after the break via Niccolo Beni, the referee Peter Martin happy with two marginal passes in the build-up, but the vital conversion from wide on the left was missed.
New Zealand were unfortunate not to be awarded a try under the posts for replacement wing Harvey, the match officials unable to see a grounding.
It was a setback for the visitors but one that Italy could not capitalise on. Had they scored again in front of a large and partisan crowd, the outcome could have been very different.
As it was, they missed a late penalty shot for Baker’s ruck offence which would have secured them a losing bonus point.
New Zealand were the only side to fail to register a winning bonus point in the first round, with South Africa thrashing Australia 73-17, England beating Scotland 56-19, France beating Spain 49-11, Argentina beating Wales 34-27 and Ireland beating Georgia 35-28.
The Baby Blacks play Georgia in Viadana on Saturday morning NZT.
