England U20 secure Six Nations title with win over Scotland
England Under 20s has won the 2017 Six Nations title after a 33-5 win over Scotland at Franklin’s Gardens.
The hosts were kept at bay in the opening stages of the match by a well-organised Scotland side but broke the deadlock through a try from second row Jack Nay after 20 minutes.
Captain Zach Mercer then showed a moment of brilliance to set up scrum-half Harry Randall just before half-time.
England had all the momentum in the second half with winger Dominic Morris capitalising on their dominance to sprint over in the corner.
Scotland responded straight away with a try of their own through Darcy Graham before Mercer scored after an error from Scotland’s fly-half Josh Henderson, giving England the bonus point.
Theo Brophy Claws made sure England finished the match in style when he stayed on the shoulder of Joe Cokanasiga, taking the offload to sprint over in the corner.
England had to wait until the result of Wales U20s match against Ireland to find out if they had won the championship, with Wales’s 41-27 win confirming England as the competition’s winners.
England U20 coach Tom Williams said: “I was excited when we were preparing for this game as I knew it would be a challenge. Scotland didn’t provide us with too many problems defensively, however, they were very effective with their game plan and we found ourselves frustrated at times.
“We have sown up the Six Nations title this evening but we all want the Grand Slam – that is what we set out to achieve at the start of the competition. Ireland is going to be a real handful next week and it will be a massive game playing for the Grand Slam on St Patrick’s Day.”
England U20:
15. Tom Parton (London Irish)
14. Joe Cokanasiga (London Irish)
13. Max Wright (Yorkshire Carnegie)
12. Will Butler (Worcester Warriors)
11. Dominic Morris (Saracens)
10. Max Malins (Saracens)
9. Harry Randall (Gloucester Rugby)
1. Ollie Dawe (Bristol Rugby)
2. Curtis Langdon (Sale Sharks)
3. Ciaran Knight (Gloucester Rugby)
4. Josh Caulfield (Exeter Chiefs)
5. Max Davies (Newcastle Falcons)
6. Jack Nay (Saracens)
7. Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)
8. Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby) captain
Replacements:
16. Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons)
17. Ralph Adams-Hale (Saracens)
18. Marcus Street (Exeter Chiefs)
19. Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors)
20. Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby)
21. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
22. Theo Brophy Clews (London Irish)
23. Jacob Umaga (Wasps)
Tries: Nay, Randall, Morris, Mercer, Brophy Clews
Conversions: Malins (4)
Scotland U20:
15. Stafford McDowall
14. Robbie Nairn
13. Ali Grieg
12. Cameron Hutchison
11. Darcy Graham
10. Josh Henderson
9. Andrew Simmers
1. George Thornton
2. Fraser Renwick
3. Adam Nicol
4. Alex Craig
5. Callum Hunter-Hill captain
6. Bruce Flockhart
7. Matt Fagerson
8. Tom Dodd
Replacements:
16. Robbie Smith
17. Daniel Winning
18. Fergus Bradbury
19. Hamish Bain
20. Jamie Ure
21. Luke Crosbie
22. Charlie Shiel
23. Craig Pringle
Tries: Graham
Attendance: 6,422
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