New Zealand U18 Boys win ‘Bledisloe-esque’ Global Youth Sevens final

New Zealand U18 Boys have run away with a commanding 41-10 win over rivals Australia in a “Bledisloe-esque” Global Youth Sevens decider. It’s the eighth time New Zealand have won the men’s final at the prestigious sevens event.

On the broadcast, former Wallaby Morgan Turinui likened the then-upcoming New Zealand versus Australia final to the All Blacks-Wallabies rivalry. New Zealand against Australia in any sport is always fierce, and you could feel that passion as both teams made their way out onto field one.

After almost three full days of action at Auckland’s Dilworth College, the Trans-Tasman foes were the two final teams standing in the bid to become men’s champions. The first half delivered tense highlights worthy of the occasion, as both teams made their mark on the scoreboard.

Matt Fleming went airborne off the kick-off to give New Zealand possession, which led to Anru Erasmus’ opener about 55 seconds into the match. With the conversion missing the mark, New Zealand held a tense 5-0 advantage.

Australia looked to hit back almost immediately, as Jarvis Orr charged at New Zealand’s defence with the ball in one hand. Orr had spotted what appeared to be at least a half-gap, before the Aussie attempted an offload – but the ball hit the deck.

New Zealand countered and managed to force a knock-on well inside Australia’s half. It was New Zealand’s feed into a scrum about 25 metres out from the try line, but the Australians won the feed and turned that attacking chance into points.

Bailey Roberts flew down the left edge, bamboozling New Zealand’s defenders with sheer pace and long strides. New Zealand reclaimed control of the match soon after, with Cam Jones reaping the rewards of an ambitious chip-and-chase.

Australia Sevens prospect Brody Folkes crossed in the corner just before the break, making it a two-point game, but it was one-way traffic in the second term. Erasmus scored the first points of the half in style and the New Zealanders never looked back.

Fleming and Jake Hill linked up in attack, allowing Jones to complete a double. Rupeni Raviawa won a pilfer penalty moments later inside Australia’s 22, which led to Fleming’s decisive try – charging through the defence with unwavering confidence.

It was a 19-point game with only a few minutes remaining, and the New Zealanders had some more points left in them. By the end of the match, it was a 31-point difference between the sides, with New Zealand claiming some Trans-Tasman rugby bragging rights before the New Year.