France skipper Arthur Vincent heaped praise on his teammates but made sure that focus was firmly forward after he led his side to a second U20 World Championship Final in a row.
The boot of Louis Carbonel, coupled with Jordan Joseph’s deciding score, led France to a 20-7 triumph over South Africa to set up their showpiece decider against Australia.
And having lost just one match – to hosts Argentina – in the tournament, Vincent admitted that it took a battle to earn the shot at another title.
“It’s unbelievable for the team. I’m very happy for each player – it’s very good. It was a very hard game, credit to South Africa,” he said.
“I hope it will be a great final. Now it’s recuperation, a good night and then the final.”
There will be an all-U20 Six Nations face-off in the fifth-place play-off as England beat familiar foes Ireland 30-23, while Wales notched a notable scalp as they edged out New Zealand 8-7.
A late Tom Willis try did the damage for England after Ireland had fought back to level at 23-23 heading into the closing stages, and captain Fraser Dingwall says that his side kept the faith in the face of adversity.
“We’re really happy. The conditions were pretty horrible, but we’re really proud of the boys, the way they dug it out today,” he explained.
“I think the important thing was that the comeback came from our own errors. We were pretty lucky in that we had a kick-off and a chance to get into their half of the field.
“We knew that if we could keep the ball and grind out a penalty or an opportunity to get points then it would come.”
It was another late show in the other semi-final, as Cai Evans slotted a clutch penalty edged out the All Blacks in a low-scoring affair.
And while captain Dewi Lake was delighted to have notched a historic triumph – dumping New Zealand out of the top six for the first time in the tournament’s history – he was assuredly circumspect as he looks ahead to the England showdown.
“It’s hard to put into words what it feels to beat a team like that. I’m just so proud of the boys for everything they’ve done up until now,” he said.
“We haven’t really dominated possession and territory in any game we’ve played, but I think today, defensively, we were much more sound, some big shots coming in from both sides. Theoretically, I guess we shouldn’t have won, but we did and that’s what mattered.
“There’s still another game to go. Of course, it’s a massive win and everyone knows how big it is to beat New Zealand, but we’ve still got a game to go. For me, it doesn’t mean a lot if we lose our next game.”
Elsewhere, Italy bested Scotland in the ninth-place semi-final, earning a final against Georgia, while Scotland are left to face Fiji.
And it was a day of disappointment for Scotland’s Connor Boyle as they went down 26-19, but one that he hopes the squad can turn to good.
“We played a full game and didn’t play well enough for the whole game and it shows. We’re in a fight now. You can’t come last in this tournament and we’ve got to go home and work hard,” he said.
“We talked all week about holding ball and building phases and we didn’t do that. Too many dropped balls, too many knock-ons and the Italian team capitalised on that and we didn’t.
“We’re in a real fight now and we’ve got to turn up. We’re proud of our nation and we’re going to have to go away and fight.”
