A late try has helped New Zealand escape with a 13-13 draw against rivals South Africa in the inaugural game of the U20 Rugby Championship in Queensland.
The match took place in horrendous conditions at Sunshine Coast Stadium, where a deluge of rain had groundskeepers sweeping water from the sodden pitch just moments before kickoff.
New Zealand were the superior side through the opening half, controlling both territory and possession, but were consistently undone by errors in difficult handling conditions, taking a 3-0 lead into halftime.
Early in the second stanza, they extended their advantage with the first try of the match. First-five Rico Simpson sent outstanding wing Stanley Solomon over with a well-placed long pass to extend to an 8-0 advantage.
The try sparked an instant South African response, with Joel Leotlela finishing a brilliant team try, before a pair of penalties put their noses in front.
With a little more than two minutes left on the clock, Frank Vaenuku found wide open pastures on the right wing to slide in for the game-tying try.
In the second match of the evening, hosts Australia couldn't withstand a dominant Argentina forward pack, falling to a 25-6 defeat.
New Zealand will be back in action on Tuesday at the same venue, where they'll face Argentina.
