Devastating Defeat for U-20 National Team

In Wales this weekend, the USA Under-20 national team lost to South Africa 108 to 18. Havertown native and current Temple University rugger, Gareth Jones, plays at center.


The game was USA U-20's first match-up International Rugby Board's Junior World Championships. Based on their impressive performance at the IRB Under-19 World Championships in 2007, USA was invited to send a team to the Under-20's. Jones played for the U-19 team, and his abilities secured him a spot on the U-20 squad.



South Africa made their tournament goals very clear in the game against USA. They even received a bonus prize for the large number of points scored.


But USA is not discouraged.


“Honestly, I think that in a way this was the best thing that could happen to us,” player Sean Treacy told USARugby.org. “A team would want to play them in the first game. We came into this match not knowing what to expect, but now we have played the best team. We have eliminated all of our fear. We know what to expect and we can go out and redeem ourselves with a good performance against the remaining competition.”

Their second-round match is tomorrow against Samoa, and Jones is on the roster as a replacement.

"The game film clearly showed weaknesses in our tackling and ability to put South Africa on the floor," Coach Salty Thompson said on USARugby.org. "The focus tomorrow against Samoa has to be team defense."


To hear more from the players themselves, check out the team's tour blog at www.usarugby.org/goto/u20_tour_digest