Canada & USA into U20s final

England 17 USA 27

USA made a strong start against England and were 19-0 up by half time. No. 8 Jordan Gray went over for the first try, which was successfully converted by fly half Anne Peterson. This was followed ten minutes later by a try for Hannah Price when USA turned the ball over and went over in the corner.

The visitor's third try came when the ball was passed out to full back Margaret Myles who beat two players before passing on to winger Natalie Kosko who touched down.

England got on the score sheet just after the break when Holly Molesworth beat the USA defensive line to go over in the corner following a free kick.

USA followed with a penalty from Peterson to keep the scoreboard ticking over and they then added their fourth try of the match, and a second for Gray, after she forced over from a five-metre scrum.

England left it late to stage their comeback but replacement Chelsey Fuggle stormed down the left to touch down in the corner before Sophie Lee scored England’s third try, displaying some excellent handling skills to beat the cover and score under the posts. The conversion from Flo Williams was successful but it wasn't quite enough as USA ran out 27-17 winners.

Head Coach Amanda Bennett said: “We were really disappointed to be 19 points down at half time but we came back into it in the second half and scored three good tries.

“It was pleasing to win the second half 17-8 but it obviously wasn’t quite enough. The message before the game was that we were ‘going into battle’, and that’s how it proved. USA are a strong side – they’re fit and athletic, and their sevens skills really shone through,

“We switch our focus to South Africa now and I know that we have improved hugely from when we played them in our first game.”

Canada 37 South Africa 0

Canada used the boot of Jess Neilson and tries from five separate players to power their way past South Africa.

Neilson got Canada on the board early, knocking down two penalty goals to give Canada a 6-0 lead. Canada’s first try of the game came courtesy Paige Farries. After Neilson added a conversion, Canada went into the half with a 13-0 lead."We didn't have the start we wanted but I knew going in that the challenge was going to be there for us,” said Canada head coach Sandro Fiorino. “We brought in some impact subs and they really made the difference. I think the fatigue factor for some of the players is kicking in after game three."Canada turned on the jets in the second half as they received an early try from Lori Josephson. Fueled by Neilson’s strong kicking game, Canada increased their lead to 20-0. Canada continued to pour on the pressure. Adding tries from Fedelia Omaghan, Frederique Rajotte and Sarah Gordon en route to the final score of 37-0.Despite the lopsided score and the chance at an appearance in Sunday’s final, Fiorino kept his players focused on the task at hand.“There was a good understanding going in once you get the lead it's full composure and just sticking to the game plan,” said Fiorino. “You saw that as the game progressed in the last twenty-five thirty minutes. We really focused on making sure that for a period of time we came out in the beginning of the second half like we've been doing all tournament and getting points in those first ten minutes.”