Kent and Cambridge University’s Ed Smith has a common name, but an uncommon talent. Bowling: Creed 13-2-41-0; Mpitsang 21-6-43-0; Samsodeen 14- 3-30-0; Rudolph 19-2-54-0; Bodi 20-5-51-3; Kent 15-3-44-0.Umpires: K Hurter and A O’Conner.. However, Gough and Shah saw England through.South Africa won tossSOUTH AFRICA UNDER-19 – First Innings 506 for 9 dec (M van Wyk 188, G Bodi 69, J Myburgh 64; G P Swann 4-90).ENGLAND UNDER-19 – First Innings 291 (P J Franks 119no).Second Innings(Overnight: 36 for 0)S D Peters b Bodi 55R W T Key b Bodi 36M A Gough b Bodi 54*O A Shah not out 104G P Swann not out 5Extras (b5 lb6 nb9) 20Total (for 3, 102 overs) 274Fall: 1-97 2-98 3-247.Did not bat: G R Napier, J C Powell, C P Schofield, P J Franks, J O Grove, N J Wilton. Having reached 50, though, the Essex youngster fell to the left-arm chinaman bowler Gulam Bodi as he tried a pull through midwicket.Key tried an equally inadvisable shot, sweeping at the same bowler and was bowled round his legs for 36. Peters had played particularly well, cutting out the rash shots which have often been his downfall. The Middlesex batsman added 149 for the third wicket with Michael Gough, who batted with his customary discipline, for 54 off 190 balls.England were 36 without loss overnight, and South Africa were unable to separate Stephen Peters and Robert Key until half an hour before lunch when the openers went within 15 balls. South Africa Under-19 506-9 dec England Under-19 291 and 274-3 Match drawn
A century from Owais Shah, the England Under-19 captain, helped his side to a draw in the second Test against South Africa, levelling the two-match series in Fochville yesterday.
Shah, who made just 13 in the first innings, made certain this time, hitting a series of sumptuous cover drives in his 104 not out from 150 balls, with 10 fours and a six.
Rees’s fifth penalty with eight minutes left was scant reward for all the effort until Sampson’s try.Wasps: Try Sampson; Conversion Rees; Penalties Rees 5. Richmond: Tries Chapman 2; Conversion Pini; Penalties Pini 2.Wasps: P Sampson; S Roiser, L Scrase, G Rees, K Logan; A King, M Friday; D Molloy, S Mitchell, W Green, D Cronin (A Reed, 62), S Shaw, L Dallaglio, M White (C Sheasby, 80), P Scrivener.Richmond: M Pini; J Wright, A Bateman, M Hutton, D Chapman; E Va’a, A Moore; D Crompton, B Williams, J Davies, C Quinnell (A Codling, 62), C Gillies, B Clarke, R Martin, S Quinnell.Referee: E Morrison (Bristol).. After the interval there were further penalties for Rees, but Matthew Pini, who had converted Chapman’s second try, picked up a couple of penalties himself. Wasps had pressure enough to have settled things, but they wasted wave after wave of attacks. He went down like a tree, but after treatment returned to the fray.By then, though, Wasps were frying themselves. There was one moment of drama in the 30th minute when the referee, Ed Morrison, caught the full force of Va’a’s attempted drop-out from about eight feet. When he found the way blocked by Alex King just short of his objective, the diminutive wing cut right and finally fell over the line to the right of the posts having covered more than 90 metres in just over 11 seconds.Two Gareth Rees penalties were all Wasps could offer in reply.
The full-back’s knock-on was beautifully taken by Chapman on the Richmond 10-metre line and he set off down the left again. After that they were rudely interrupted by the Heineken European Cup, followed by England’s quadrangular tournament against New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. They then hung on until the final whistle, when Sampson’s score proved enough to earn them their second win of this campaign, and inflict Richmond’s third successive League defeat.
It is incredible to realise that four months into the season Wasps had won just one match in the Premiership, and that was their opening fixture at Bristol back at the end of August. Admittedly Richmond had fortune on their side, even so two tries in three minutes by left wing Dominic Chapman would have knocked any side on to the back foot. His first in the eighth minute came after a quick line-out, Andy Moore flung a pass out to stand- off Earl Va’a and his long cross-kick was snapped up by Chapman, who fairly flew down the touchline leaving gasping defenders in his wake.His second came courtesy of misfortune for Wasps’ own flier, Paul Sampson. When Allied Dunbar hostilities were finally resumed in October, Wasps proceeded to lose the next five league games.A shaky first half did little to convince those watching that they would not reach an unwelcome half-dozen.
It was beginning to look as if Wasps would never win another League match. Their Allied Dunbar Premiership One game with Richmond last night was threatening to go the way of all their recent games, until the 74th minute, when the full-back Paul Sampson exorcised the hoodoo with a fine try, converted by Gareth Rees. Saracens: Tries Constable, Lynagh, Daniel; Conversions Lynagh 2; Penalties Lynagh 2.London Irish: C O’Shea (capt); J Bishop, N Burrows, M McCall, N Woods; D Humphreys, P Richards (N Hogan, 60); L Mooney, R Kellam (T Redmond, 69), G Halpin (A Kershaw, 65), G Fulcher, M O’Kelly, K O’Connell, K Spicer, C Bird.Saracens: G Johnson (M Singer, h-t); B Daniel, R Constable, S Ravenscroft, R Wallace; M Lynagh, K Bracken; R Grau, G Chuter, P Wallace, T Copsey, D Grewcock, F Pienaar, T Diprose (capt), A Bennett.Referee: N Cousins (London).. Having been awarded a penalty, Saracens declined to kick, instead taking a quick tap and Lynagh was allowed to touch down through a bemused Irish defence.Brendon Daniel, another of the Saracens’ overseas imports, rounded off the scoring when a desperate attempt at an Irish clearance resulted in the ball being kicked directly into the hands of the New Zealand wing and he responded by jinking through the middle of the Irish defence to score near the posts.London Irish: Try O’Shea; Conversion Woods; Penalty Woods.
They have that, but it is not enough to win matches.With the elements in their favour in the second half, Saracens quickly resumed normal service. Ryan Constable beat his opposite number, Nick Burrows, to score Saracens first try in the 45th minute and they went further ahead a few minutes later when the Irish defence was caught napping in front of their own posts. Although the stand-off was late tackled, Woods hacked on, Lynagh failed to control the ball and Conor O’Shea dived on it for the try. It was a rare moment of celebration for the Irish in a hard season during which they have won only one league match.They have drawn up a list of objectives, the first of which was to maintain Premiership status Another is to command respect from the other clubs. They harried and tackled everything that moved, and sometimes things that did not, and Saracens were not allowed to settle.The Irish, with a rare penalty award, reduced the deficit when Niall Woods was on target with a long-range kick.