France set up England final

PARIS: A teak-tough France led by indomitable 17-year-old No 8 Jordan Joseph notched up a memorable 16-7 victory over six-time winners New Zealand on Tuesday to set up a maiden World Rugby U20 Championship final against England.

The odds were stacked against the tournament’s host nation, the Baby Blacks having won six of the last seven under-20 finals, including a record-breaking 64-17 defeat of England in last year’s final. But Joseph, recently snapped up by Racing 92, along with teammates, centre Pierre Louis Barassi and flanker Antonin Berruyer, had other ideas.

The trio were part of a team which gave their senior counterparts — 52-11 losers to the All Blcaks in the first of three Tests last weekend — a useful reminder of importance of going toe-to-toe with New Zealand and pouncing on any mistakes, on a sultry Tuesday night in Perpignan where the ‘Marseillaise’ rang out with gay abandon.