Wallabies thrashed by Boks (32-5) in the 3rd 4th play off.
And the kiwis take the cup, at least we got closer than the Poms....
and
And the kiwis take the cup, at least we got closer than the Poms....
New Zealand ran in seven tries in an outstanding showcase of 15-man rugby to beat England 44-28 and win the IRB TOSHIBA Junior World Championship 2009.
The earlier heavy rain at Tokyo’s Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium had stopped by the start of the final but conditions were still very slippery underfoot.
However, it didn’t seem to upset the New Zealanders, whose all around team effort saw them retain the trophy they won last year - though they were made to work very hard by a determined England outfit that never gave up.
The tone of the match was set early on with the England forwards pushing the New Zealand pack backwards in the mauls, while the Kiwi backs looked very dangerous in broken play and two penalties by full back Tom Homer saw England take an early lead.
It could have been more, with Ben Youngs stripped of the ball by Robbie Robinson as the England scrum half slid over the line in the 11th minute.
Robinson proved to be even more of a thorn in England’s side four minutes later when he finished off a good break by Winston Stanley, to go over for the opening try of the final. England responded in the best possible way just a minute later when James Gaskell dived over to make it 11-5 for his second of the tournament.
But it didn’t take long though for New Zealand to make it a one-point match again. Stanley was again the creator, the centre’s inch perfect kick meant Zac Guildford didn’t have to break stride as he re-gathered and sprinted home from 40 metres out.
Captain and fly half Aaron Cruden missed the conversion but found the target in the 25th minute with a penalty as New Zealand went in front for the first time.
The score seemed to lift New Zealand and two tries in five minutes by Cruden – both following some great interchanges between forwards and backs - saw the Baby Blacks put 14 points between the teams.
Homer reduced that to 11 with another well struck penalty and the sides went into the break with New Zealand leading 25-14.
It only took three minutes of the second half for New Zealand to once again break the England defence when Cruden made a half break and then passed inside to Shaun Treeby, who went over under the posts.
Carl Fearns pulled a try back for England but tenacious New Zealand defence was always going to make it difficult to pull back another 11 points and Guildford’s second try of the match in the 59th minute almost put the match out of reach for them.
Brayden Mitchell’s five-pointer in the 72nd minute made it impossible and Dave Lewis’ try two minutes from time was nothing more than a consolation effort.
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New Zealand captain Aaron Cruden has today been named the IRB Junior Player of the Year 2009, the second of the prestigious IRB Awards in association with Emirates Airline to be presented this year.
Cruden follows in the footsteps of countryman Luke Braid, who scooped the Award in 2008 and continues the domination of New Zealand players in the IRB Junior Player of the Year Award category in recent years.
The 20-year-old guided New Zealand to their second successive IRB Junior World Championship final against England and then led by example, scoring two tries and creating another three as they triumphed 44-28 in Tokyo.
He had produced a similar performance in the semi final against Australia four days earlier, creating two tries in as many minutes to turn the match in New Zealand's favour and kicking 11 points in the 31-17 victory.
Cruden's composure, vision and inspirational leadership of a new-look New Zealand squad at the IRB TOSHIBA Junior World Championship 2009 in Japan were the outstanding qualities which saw him claim the coveted Award ahead of his New Zealand team-mate Winston Stanley, England number 8 Carl Fearns and scrum half Richard Kingi of Australia.
He is the latest New Zealander to win the IRB Age Grade Award with previous winners Isaia Toeava, Jerome Kaino and Luke McAlister all having gone on to play for the All Blacks.
"It is a huge honour to be named the best player for this age group at the Under 20 level and I am just extremely honoured and I suppose the hard work that I have put in has paid off now," said Cruden.
New Zealand coach Dave Rennie labelled Cruden "worth his weight in gold to us" before adding: "I have been lucky enough to have a lot to do with Aaron. He is a very special player. He was very good against Australia and sensational today.
"He is fairly inspirational, so he can put people in space around him or spot space in behind or an opportunity to run and it gives the team a lot of confidence having a guy like him at number 10."
Mike Miller, IRB Chief Executive in Japan to present the Award, added: "The IRB TOSHIBA Junior World Championship has shown just how good the next group of senior international players could be, and the IRB Junior Player of the Year Award is essential in recognising achievement at this level. Aaron Cruden can be very proud to have won the Award with so many excellent players taking part here."
England captain Ollie Phillips was named IRB Sevens Player of the Year last month, leaving 11 of the 13 coveted IRB Award categories still to be announced. In the exciting new format for the IRB Awards, winners will be named throughout the year, culminating in the announcement of the prestigious IRB Player, Coach and Team of the Year in November.
Previous Winners
2008 - IRB Junior Player of the Year: Luke Braid (New Zealand)
2007 - IRB International U19 Player of the Year: Robert Fruean (New Zealand)
2006 - IRB International U19 Player of the Year: Josh Holmes (Australia)
2006 - IRB International U21 Player of the Year: Lionel Beauxis (France)
2005 - IRB International U19 Player of the Year: Isaia Toeava (New Zealand)
2005 - IRB International U21 Player of the Year: Tatafu Polota-Nau (Australia)
2004 - IRB International U19 Player of the Year: Jeremy Thrush (New Zealand)
2004 - IRB International U21 Player of the Year in association with Waterford Crystal: Jerome Kaino (New Zealand)
2003 - IRB U19 Player of the Year: Jean Baptiste Payras (France)
2003 - IRB U21 Player of the Year in assoc. with Waterford Crystal: Ben Atiga (New Zealand)
2002 - IRB U19 Player of the Year: Luke McAlister (New Zealand)
2002 - IRB U21 Player of the Year, in assoc. with Waterford: Pat Barnard (South Africa)
2001 - IRB Young Player of the Year: Gavin Henson (Wales)
