England 28 New Zealand 44

New Zealand ran in seven tries in an outstanding showcase of 15-man rugby to beat an England side featuring Harlequins duo George Lowe and Rory Clegg to win the IRB Toshiba Junior World Championship.

The earlier heavy rain at Tokyo's Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium had stopped by the start of the final but conditions were still very slippery underfoot.

But it didn't seem to upset the New Zealanders, whose all around team effort saw them retain the trophy they won last year - though they were made to work very hard by a determined England outfit that never gave up.

"We were beaten by a better team," admitted England coach Mark Mapletoft after the match.

"Overall it was closer than last year and we've certainly made strides in some aspects.

"To score 28 points was obviously a positive but it was equally disappointing to concede seven tries.

"They were just too clinical for us to get away with slipping off one on one tackles in defence and giving the ball away in attack. When we gave them cheap yards and a sniff of the line, they were over.

"Overall, I'd have to say the score was a fair reflection of the two teams but on the plus side, we could have capitulated but didn't.

"I have to give the boys credit for sticking at it but as hard as we worked we couldn't quite close the gap."

The tone of the match was set early on, with the England forwards pushing the New Zealand pack backwards in the mauls, while the Kiwi backs looked very dangerous in broken play and two penalties by full back Tom Homer saw England take an early lead.

It could have been more, with Ben Youngs stripped of the ball by Robbie Robinson as the England scrum-half slid over the line in the 11th minute.

Robinson proved to be even more of a thorn in England's side four minutes later when he finished off a good break by Winston Stanley, to go over for the opening try of the final.

England responded in the best possible way just a minute later when James Gaskell dived over to make it 11-5 for his second of the tournament.

But it didn't take long though for New Zealand to make it a one-point match again.

Stanley was again the creator, the centre's inch perfect kick meant Zac Guildford didn't have to break stride as he re-gathered and sprinted home from 40m out.

Aaron Cruden missed the conversion but found the target in the 25th minute with a penalty as New Zealand went in front for the first time.

The score seemed to lift New Zealand and two tries in five minutes by Cruden - both following some great interchanges between forwards and backs - saw the Kiwis put 14 points between the teams.

Homer reduced that to 11 with another well struck penalty and the sides went into the break with New Zealand leading 25-14.

It only took three minutes of the second half for New Zealand to once again break the England defence however, Cruden made a half break and then passed inside to Shaun Treeby, who went over under the posts.

Carl Fearns pulled a try back for England but tenacious New Zealand defence was always going to make it difficult to pull back another 11 points and Guildford's second try of the game in the 59th minute almost put the match out of reach for them.

Brayden Mitchell's five-pointer in the 72nd minute made it impossible and Dave Lewis' try in the 78th minute was nothing more than a consolation effort.

England: 15 Tom Homer (London Irish), 14 George Lowe (Harlequins), 13 Henry Trinder (Gloucester Rugby), 12 Luke Eves (Bristol Rugby), 11 Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby), 10 Rory Clegg (Harlequins), 9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers), 1 Ben Moon (Exeter Chiefs), 2 Jamie George (Saracens), 3 Bob Baker (London Wasps), 4 Graham Kitchener (Worcester Warriors), 5 James Gaskell (Sale Sharks), 6 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), 7 Calum Clark (Leeds Carnegie, captain), 8 Carl Fearns (Sale Sharks).

Replacements (all used): 16 James Clark (London Irish), 17 Shaun Knight (Gloucester Rugby), 18 Dan Williams (Gloucester Rugby), 19 Josh Ovens (Bath Rugby), 20 Dave Lewis (Gloucester Rugby), 21 Rob Miller (Newcastle Falcons), 22 Jack Cobden (Leicester Tigers)

Scorers: Tries: Gaskell, Fearns, Lewis, Cons: Homer, Miller, Pens: Homer (3)

NEW ZEALAND: 15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Nafi Tuitavake, 13 Winston Stanley, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Aaron Cruden (captain), 9 Frae Wilson, 1 Willie Ioane Afuvai, 2 Brayden Mitchell, 3 Ma'afu Fia, 4 Alex Ryan, 5 Daniel Faleafa, 6 Brendon O'Connor, 7 Berny Hall, 8 Trent Boswell-Wakefield. Replacements: 16 Shae Tamati, 17 Latu Talakai, 18 Leighton Price, 19 Elliot Dixon, 20 Tom Taylor, 21 Codey Rei, 22 Ken Pisi Siaosi

Scorers: Tries: Robinson, Guildford (2), Cruden (2), Treeby, Mitchell Cons: Cruden (3), Pens: Cruden

Referee: James Jones (Wales)