Controlled England victorious to claim U20’s Six Nations title

England put in a dominant performance against a valiant Scotland side to earn a 33-5 victory at Franklin’s Gardens. England controlled large portions of the game and pulled away in the second half in a victory that saw them crowned Six Nations champions.

U20 Six Nations Champions, England, line-up
for the pre-match anthems

    While Scotland had the bulk of the early possession, neither side were able to capitalise on their opportunities as the set piece failed to fire early on. It was a mistake from a Scottish lineout that lead to the first points of the game as Langdon pounced on an overthrown ball before Ben Curry made yards up the field.  With the Scottish defence out of position a strong carry from flanker Jack Nay saw him over for the opening try.

                England controlled the rest of the half keeping Scotland pinned back inside their own half, and while having several opportunities to attack, the Scottish defence held England out despite periods of sustained pressure. Scotland failed to gain a foothold in the match as the England scrum dominance allowed them to control the tempo. It was some neat handling just before half-time that saw England double their lead, Zach Mercer and Harry Randall linking up to allow the scrum half over in the corner. England leading at half-time 14-0.

                England started the second half as they finished the first. With Scotland deep inside their own half and attacking from deep, a miskicked chip was collected easily by Will Butler. England used their width well and Tom Parton put Dominic Morris in for a try early in the second half. However, Scotland hit back immediately with a great individual score from winger Darcy Graham as he showed his pace to break in behind England and then a strong carry to see him finish off the score. With the score at 19-5, Scotland began to work themselves back into the game for a short period but failed to add to the scoreboard.

England soon regained control of the game with further dominance up front failing to allow Scotland any clean ball from the set piece. The Scottish players continued to defend at a very high intensity and did not allow England to threaten the try line. However a handling error from Scotland saw a ball on the ground hacked through by England lock Josh Caulfield, and a fumble from the last Scottish defender allowed Zach Mercer  to cap off an impressive performance with a simple try. England finished the game in style as their dangerous backline connected with neat offloading between Cokanasiga & Mercer gave replacement fly-half Theo Brophy Clews a 30m footrace to the whitewash, scoring in the corner.

The final score was a convincing 33-5 victory for England who controlled the vast majority of the game, with huge credit going to the forward pack which caused problems for Scotland’s scrummage and never allowed them to build momentum. Despite early problems at the lineout, hooker Langdon was very impressive in the loose and put in a huge amount of work. The backrow also were impressive in their handling skills and effort going forward, lead by captain Zach Mercer. The win means England remain undefeated in this seasons Six Nations and will travel to Dublin next week hoping to seal a Grand Slam when they play Ireland. However, it was England & Wales’ victories on the night that saw England crowned winners of this seasons U20 Six Nations Championship.