U19 2007 RWC - Canada claim Second Semi Final spot
12 Apr 2007
Canada ran out 15-7 winners over Division B top seeds Romania at Upritchard Park, Bangor to maintain their unbeaten record and book their place in the semi finals of the IRB Under 19 World Championship 2007.
Sean White, the Canadian captain and scrum half, returned to lead his side after missing their defeat of Russia last Sunday and marked the occasion with their opening try in the 15th minute after some sustained pressure on the Romanian line.
Fly half Nathan Hirayama converted this try and then added a penalty late in the first half after Romania were penalised for joining the ruck from the side to give Canada a 10-0 advantage, one which could not be added to as both sides began to make handling errors as nerves mounted.
The second half began brightly for Romania when wing Georgel Catuna crossed in the second minute to cut the deficit to only three points. Romania, without a win to their name, were resurgent and as Canadian frustration grew, their number 8 Thyssen de Goede was sin-binned.
Matt Evans performed well for Canada – along with Hiryama – and was rewarded with a try 10 minutes from time after Romanian fly half Alexandru Valcu’s offload went array and was eventually picked up the centre.
Fighting to the finish
Evans though still had a lot of work to do, but stepped inside the cover defence and grounded the ball under pressure from wing Madalin Lemnaru. Romania though were unfazed by the try and continued to push forward and cause Canada problems.
However there would be no second try for them as, after consecutive scrums, the ball was eventually turned over and number 8 Bogdan Petreanu was ultimately shown the yellow card for lying on the ball.
Canadian back row Seb Pearson was sent to the sin bin seven minutes later, but some stout defence kept Romania at arms length and ultimately the superb defensive kicking of Hirayama allowed Canada to breathe a sigh of relief as the final whistle went.
The victory ultimately was enough to see Canada finish second in the standing and set up a semi final with Georgia, while Romania finish 11th and meet Chinese Taipei in their quest to finish at best ninth in Division B.
QUOTES
Canada coach Gary Johnston: “I think the performance Romania wanted from themselves came tonight and it’s encouraging that we were able to deal with it. It was narrow, yes, but a third win was vital for us.”
Canada fly half Nathan Hirayama: “It was really physical out there. They hit hard so we tried to give back as much as we could. We were glad we were able to cope.”
Romania coach Alexandru Achim: “I am a little more happy than after the previous two games, but I still think there is a lot more to come, but we won’t see it in the semi finals.”
