Wales came through a pulsating 38-36 win over Australia to book their first victory over the Junior Wallabies since 2018 and set up a Junior World Championship fifth-place final against Scotland.
According to World Rugby’s official matchday report, Wales survived a dramatic finish at Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi after Australia had a would-be match-winning try from replacement Jonty Fowler ruled out by the TMO for an earlier knock-on. Australia lost four players to injury inside the opening quarter, including a serious-looking ankle injury to influential back Treyvon Pritchard, but rallied from 14-0 down through a Tom Farr-Jones double to lead 17-14 before Wales regained control. A red card for Wales’ Luke Evans set up a tense finish, but a match-defining penalty try settled it in Wales’ favour.
Joe Roberts Leads Scotland Into Junior World Championship Fifth-Place Final
Scotland booked the other fifth-place final spot with an emphatic 44-26 win over Argentina, hooker and captain Joe Roberts scoring twice to take his tournament tally to five tries in four games. Fergus Pringle’s side led 19-7 at the break before adding four more tries after the restart, with Argentina hitting back through Bautista Lescano, Pedro Coll and Ramon Fernandez.
The results mean Argentina and Australia will instead meet in Friday’s seventh-place play-off, while the Junior Boks‘ conquerors South Africa prepare to defend their crown when they face France for the Junior World Championship title in Tbilisi on Saturday. Wales and Scotland’s fifth-place final kicks off the same weekend, with both sides chasing what would be a landmark result at this level.
