U20 World Championship
New Zealand defeat England to claim U20 world championship
ESPN Staff
June 20, 2015
Anton Lienert-Brown in action
Anton Lienert-Brown in action© Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

New Zealand brought an end to England's reign as Under-20 world champions with a thrilling 21-16 victory in the final in Cremona.

The Baby Blacks recovered from going behind to a third-minute try by England centre Max Clarke to run in two of their own via Vince Aso and Akira Ioane.

Earlier, South Africa's first-half dominance told as they defeated France 31-18 to claim third place.

The French struck first through an Arthur Bonneval try on the 10-minute mark, but the Junior Boks hit back emphatically to run in four tries before the half-time break.

Thomas du Toit and Jason Jenkins notched up a try apiece for the South Africans, while Daniel du Preez claimed a brace in the space of five minutes as the Junior Boks took a 28-8 lead into half-time.

France hit back in the second period via tries from Julien Delannoy and Lucas Blanc, but it was too little too late as South Africa put the disappointment of missing out on the final behind them.

In other results, Australia ran in four tries to beat Wales 28-23 and claim fifth place, while Ireland claimed a tense 17-9 victory over Scotland to finish seventh.

Argentina racked up six tries in their 38-21 victory over Japan for ninth and tournament hosts Italy gave the home supporters something to cheer about with a late 20-19 win over Samoa, a result which sees the Pacific Islanders relegated from the competition for next year.

© ESPN Staff

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