New Zealand halfback Josh Renton scores during last night's win over Scotland at Pukekohe. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealand are still alive at the Junior World Championships and will prepare for another tough match with South Africa on Sunday.
England, the winners of Pool A placed second on point differential, will meet Ireland in the second semifinal on Sunday.
New Zealand started the match against Scotland last
night at knowing what they needed to reach the semifinals: a bonus point win and at least a five point victory margin to move ahead of Australia after an extraordinary day where results, and in particular Wales upsetting France, fell into line for them. They had seen some of the heavyweights, namely England and South Africa, struggle to impose their games, but as the weather cleared, so did their heads.
All eyes were on the first set-piece, a lineout. New Zealand hooker James O'Reilly promptly overthrew it, drawing groans from the smallish crowd. That was not thankfully a sign of things to come.
There was generally more urgency about the New Zealand effort, and No 8 Tom Sanders opened the scoring with a try off the back of a scrum, aided by a shunt up the backside from one of his teammates. Scotland handed the next one to Josh Renton, a loose lineout tap-back sitting up for the grateful No 9 to scorch 20m for the try. Halfway there, but no easy run home for New Zealand with the rain pelting down.
