World Rugby U20 Trophy: Hong Kong start with 53-0 loss as Spain run in 9 tries in Nairobi
- Eloy de la Pisa Cuadrado and Gabriel Rocaries touch down twice each, but Spain could have scored several more and Hong Kong, too, butcher opportunities
- Victories for Scotland, Samoa and Uruguay in the opening day’s other fixtures
Spain ran in nine tries in a 53-0 hammering of Hong Kong on the opening day of the World Rugby U20 Trophy in Kenya on Saturday.
Eloy de la Pisa Cuadrado and Gabriel Rocaries both scored twice for Los Leones, who should have scored several more during the one-sided Pool B encounter at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.
Hong Kong might have scored twice themselves, but butchered simple opportunities in each half that should have been taken.
It took Spain just seven minutes to score their first, with flanker Ignacio Pineiro Molla touching down after Hong Kong failed to gather a kick ahead.
In an error-strewn opening both sides struggled with their set-pieces, although Spain finally got their act together in the 15th minute with a rolling maul from a line-out leading to captain Alvaro Garcia Albo getting his side’s second.
A similar opportunity went begging shortly afterwards as Spain knocked on, but the inevitable third came following a dominant scrum that left Hong Kong back-peddling, and open-side flanker Borja Ibanez Escalera crashed over two phases later.
Hong Kong came close to scoring soon after, but we held up over the line and paid the price for that miss moments later. Spain turned the ball over near halfway, Ibanez Escalera raced clear and sent De la Pisa Cuadrado in for his first.
Already over as a contest at half-time, Spain pulled further ahead three minutes after the restart, grabbing a fifth try through full-back Gabriel Rocaries following a bullocking run by hooker Garcia Albo and some quick feet by centre Daniel Catanzaro Omati.
Despite enjoying most of the possession and territory, Spain wasted several chances to increase their lead and it took until the hour mark before they added a sixth, with Rocaries grabbing his second.
Spain enjoyed most of the possession and territory in the third quarter but were let down by their accuracy in the red zone and had to wait until the 60th minute for their sixth try. It was Rocaries again, this time courtesy of a jinking run and finish.
De la Pisa Cuadrado then scored his second and Spain’s seventh, before Hong Kong replacement prop Takuma Yamauchi wasted their only other try-scoring opportunity by failing to ground the ball when it was over the line.
Going down to 14 men made little difference to Spain, and two tries in the last six minutes, from Martin Pena and Alvaro Vilchez, took them past 50 points.
In the day’s other games, there were wins for Scotland, Samoa and Uruguay.
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In a classic game of two halves, Scotland ran out 64-33 winners over Zimbabwe in the opening game of the tournament, but a five-try second-half burst from the Junior Sables ensured it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Scots in Pool A.
Samoa, too, did not have things all their own way against hosts Kenya in the first Pool B match, but two quick tries from captain John Mata Samuelu and a double from winger William Hunt ensured the former champions opened their 2023 challenge with a 34-25 win.
The third match was a much cagier affair, with Uruguay edging the battle of the former champions against USA 33-31, thanks to a late try from Dante Soto and the accurate boot of Juan Carlos Canessa.
