The playoffs for the 2014 JWRT are now confirmed, but several teams in the tournament will leave Hong Kong disappointed with final to be played with two sides who's merits as the two best sides are less than conclusive.
Pool A:
After beaten convincingly by Georgia on the opening day it seemed very unlikely Tonga would reach the final, but somehow they have. USA came into the final round in the dominant position of winning 2 games, but even if Tonga beat them, then Georgia would have been the most likely side to qualify.
However Tonga pulled off the upset against the USA, and astonishingly Georgia failed to get the required bonus point try against Hong Kong.
Georgia must be tearing their hair out in frustration. They would have fancied their chances of reaching the final after the opening round, but ultimately in each of the matches they came 1 try, 1 point and 1 try short of doing so. Just achieving one of those in one of the matches would have seen them through, but now they will have to watch a side they thrashed 34-10 play the final. Failure to thrash the easy beats Hong Kong was a huge cock up on their part. Still, with a more positive hat on, they are one of the youngest teams at the tournament with a majority of 15 of their 26 man squad still eligible next year, they'll be disappointed to miss a good opportunity to reach the final but can learn from it next year.
The USA will also be frustrated as they put themselves in a good position to qualify in the opening games, but like Georgia they also have a young squad that many of which will return next year where they will hope to make amends.
However Tonga pulled off the upset against the USA, and astonishingly Georgia failed to get the required bonus point try against Hong Kong.
Georgia must be tearing their hair out in frustration. They would have fancied their chances of reaching the final after the opening round, but ultimately in each of the matches they came 1 try, 1 point and 1 try short of doing so. Just achieving one of those in one of the matches would have seen them through, but now they will have to watch a side they thrashed 34-10 play the final. Failure to thrash the easy beats Hong Kong was a huge cock up on their part. Still, with a more positive hat on, they are one of the youngest teams at the tournament with a majority of 15 of their 26 man squad still eligible next year, they'll be disappointed to miss a good opportunity to reach the final but can learn from it next year.
The USA will also be frustrated as they put themselves in a good position to qualify in the opening games, but like Georgia they also have a young squad that many of which will return next year where they will hope to make amends.
Fixtures & Results:
07/04 –
 Tonga 10-34 Georgia 
07/04 –
 USA 37-0 Hong Kong 
11/04 –
USA 13-12 Georgia
11/04 –
Tonga 39-16 Hong Kong
15/04 –
Georgia 21-8 Hong Kong
15/04 –
USA 22-28 Tonga |
Standings:
1.
Tonga – 10 pts2. USA – 10 pts
3.
Georgia – 9 pts
4.
Hong Kong – 0 pts |
Pool B:
Japan always looked likely to qualify, but this group came to a rather unsatisfactory conclusion as they got through courtesy of the bonus point system. Whilst Uruguay who beat them and finished undefeated missed out on the final.
The Japanese, who culturally are known for a high scoring style both in attack and defence (which has often been their downfall in the past), were rewarded for their bonus points, including 2 in the loss to Uruguay.
The system was known beforehand, but you've got to feel for the Uruguayans who had one of their best junior team finishes in over a decade and didn't lose but will have to watch a side they beat play the final. A last minute try in the game against Canada ultimately cost Los Teritos.
When teams beat each other in a short tournament then unfortunately you have to accept a less than conclusive finish to the standings, this even happens in the 6 Nations again where points difference leads to dubious winners. Here as well it feels dubious as to whether we have the best teams in the final following an inconclusive pool stage.
If there isn't the budget to add an extra game for a semi final, there are a couple of possible alternatives to this system. A 6 Nations style system with just 2 points to the winner, 1 for a draw, which would have rewarded the unbeaten Uruguay, however that still leaves an inconclusive grey area when teams finish on equal wins. Probably the best option is the French style system where you get a bonus point for 3 tries more than your opposition, which denies the loophole Japan have exploited in getting consolation tries worth equal to a draw and rewards comfortable wins as opposed to just high scoring matches. The current system was weighted towards Japan's style, and they took advantage, though it by no means concludes that they were the best side in the pool.
Japan will be pleased to get to the final again, however they themselves won't be overly happy. As probably the best funded and prepared team (or at least prepared as in time together) in the tournament, they still lost to Uruguay and conceded 73 points. Below the national team who have some decent tacklers, that defence remains a problem and unless it is fixed then they will suffer like they did in the PRC against the big Junior World Cup sides.
Meanwhile, Canada continued their nightmare tournament with a heavy defeat. They were already out of the running to reach the final, but what a disaster this has been for them after they weren't far off promotion last year finishing runners up. Namibia will be one of the few sides reasonably satisfied with their tournament, even though they lost narrowly to Uruguay, the African side has usually been historically the worst side in the pool so finishing with 7 points is a pretty good result for them.
The Japanese, who culturally are known for a high scoring style both in attack and defence (which has often been their downfall in the past), were rewarded for their bonus points, including 2 in the loss to Uruguay.
The system was known beforehand, but you've got to feel for the Uruguayans who had one of their best junior team finishes in over a decade and didn't lose but will have to watch a side they beat play the final. A last minute try in the game against Canada ultimately cost Los Teritos.
When teams beat each other in a short tournament then unfortunately you have to accept a less than conclusive finish to the standings, this even happens in the 6 Nations again where points difference leads to dubious winners. Here as well it feels dubious as to whether we have the best teams in the final following an inconclusive pool stage.
If there isn't the budget to add an extra game for a semi final, there are a couple of possible alternatives to this system. A 6 Nations style system with just 2 points to the winner, 1 for a draw, which would have rewarded the unbeaten Uruguay, however that still leaves an inconclusive grey area when teams finish on equal wins. Probably the best option is the French style system where you get a bonus point for 3 tries more than your opposition, which denies the loophole Japan have exploited in getting consolation tries worth equal to a draw and rewards comfortable wins as opposed to just high scoring matches. The current system was weighted towards Japan's style, and they took advantage, though it by no means concludes that they were the best side in the pool.
Japan will be pleased to get to the final again, however they themselves won't be overly happy. As probably the best funded and prepared team (or at least prepared as in time together) in the tournament, they still lost to Uruguay and conceded 73 points. Below the national team who have some decent tacklers, that defence remains a problem and unless it is fixed then they will suffer like they did in the PRC against the big Junior World Cup sides.
Meanwhile, Canada continued their nightmare tournament with a heavy defeat. They were already out of the running to reach the final, but what a disaster this has been for them after they weren't far off promotion last year finishing runners up. Namibia will be one of the few sides reasonably satisfied with their tournament, even though they lost narrowly to Uruguay, the African side has usually been historically the worst side in the pool so finishing with 7 points is a pretty good result for them.
Results:
07/04 –
 Japan 28-33 Uruguay 
07/04 –
 Canada 25-37 Namibia 
11/04 –
Japan 34-28 Namibia
11/04 –
Canada 18-18 Uruguay
15/04 –
Uruguay 16-13 Namibia
15/04 –
Canada 12-37 Japan |
Standings:
1.
Japan – 12 pts2. Uruguay – 10 pts
3.
Namibia – 7 pts
4.
Canada – 2 pts |
Playoffs (19/04):
7th Place Playoff –
Hong Kong vs Canada 5th Place Playoff –
Georgia vs Namibia 3rd Place Playoff –
USA vs Uruguay Final –
Tonga vs Japan (Winner gains promotion to the 2015 Junior World Cup)
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