France 23 – 19 England

England U18 fell to their first defeat of the European Championships in France this evening, losing by a four point margin.

Despite showing real promise in attack, resulting in tries from Jake Pope, Alex Mitchell and Josh Caulfield, England failed to overcome a strong French outfit.

The opposition maintained the lead throughout the fixture in Blagnac, scoring two tries and 13 points off the boot.

Head coach John Fletcher said:

“We knew France would be a tough opposition and that was proved right this evening. Against a team of France’s quality, you can’t afford to give them the chances we did and that cost us. We couldn’t maintain enough pressure on France for long enough periods.

“But despite the score line I was pleased with the effort from the players; they didn’t let up and we were pushing hard for a try at the end. They are disappointed with the result, however the players will learn from it and produce a good performance in our last game this weekend.”

England’s attention will now turn to their final game of the European Championships on Saturday, April 4 in Toulouse. Opposition TBC.

England U18

15. Darren Atkins (Bath Rugby, Millfield School)
14. Sam Aspland-Robinson (Harlequins, Wellington College)
13. Dominic Morris (Saracens, New Hall School)
12. Max Malins (Saracens, Felsted)
11. Paolo Odogwu (Leicester Tigers, Leicester Grammar School)
10. Theo Brophy Clews (London Irish, Abingdon School) (C)
9. Alex Mitchell (Sale Sharks, Lymm HS)
1. Jake Pope (Sale Sharks, Myerscough College)
2. Dan Frost (Bath Rugby, Filton College)
3. Charlie Capps (Prince Henry’s, Yorkshire Carnegie)
4. Josh Caulfield (Exeter Chiefs, Bicton College)
5. Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, Haileybury College)
6. Archie White (Harlequins, Epsom College)
7. Will Allman (Northampton Saints, Trent College)
8. Zack Mercer (Bath Rugby, Merchiston Castle School)

Replacements:

16. Curtis Langdon (London Irish, St Pauls Sunbury)
17. Oliver Dawe (Exeter Chiefs, Bicton College)
18. *Jack Edmondson (Bath Rugby, Sherborne)
19. *Tim Cardall (Northampton Saints, Moulton College)
20. Joe Craggs (Newcaslte Falcons, Gosforth Academy)
21. Will Ewans (Leicester Tigers, Wyggeston & QEI College)
22. Jack Maunder (Exeter Chiefs)
23. Mark Dixon (Sale Sharks, Lymm HS)
24. Max Wright (Yorkshire Carnegie, Prince Henry’s)
25. *Gabrial Ibitoye (Harlequins, Trinity College)
26. Johnny McPhillips (Newcastle Falcons, Sedbergh School)

*Denotes those players not used.

England points: Jack Pope 1T, Alex Mitchell 1T, Theo Brophy Clews 1C, Josh Caulfield 1T, Johnny McPhillips 1C