U20s RBS Six Nations R3 Round Up

Amidst all the excitement of the Six Nations and the beginning of the Super Rugby season, it would be understandable if you didn’t realise the third round of the U20 Six Nations was being contended this past weekend.

England and Ireland got the round started in Newcastle, where Ireland staged an excellent second half comeback to beat a lacklustre England side, 26-20. Irish captain James Ryan was the standard bearer whom Ireland rallied around, as they scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to claim a memorable victory.

England had started impressively, looking threatening with ball in hand, as well as dominating both the set-piece and the breakdown. Tries from Sam Smith and George Perkins gave England a deserved 17-6 lead at the interval.

Despite continuing to exert their dominance at the set-piece and breakdown, England fell apart in the second half, losing all chemistry they had in attack from the first half, as well as looking disorganised in defence. Tries from Matthew Byrne and Andrew Porter gave Ireland the lead for the first time in the game and subsequent cards for Smith (yellow) and Stan South (red) meant that England’s disappointing campaign continued on home soil.

Conversely, Scotland’s highly-encouraging tournament marched on, as they defeated the the Italians 24-14 at the Stadio Plebiscito in Padua.

Italy got off to the perfect start when wing Luca Sperandio sprinting over in the opening minutes, and the hosts were certainly the more impressive side early in the game, with a Rory Hutchinson penalty all that Scotland was able to offer up in return.

Scotland’s impressive defence, which has been a hallmark of their campaign thus far, finally swung momentum in their favour, as a Scott Cummings stolen lineout ended up in the hands of Hutchinson, who ran well over 60m for Scotland’s first try of the game. Murray McCallum also crossed the try line before the half, giving Scotland a 17-7 lead at the interval.

Italy fired back with a penalty try at the scrum in the second half, an area where they had been excelling all game, but a try from Harlequins’ Robbie Nairn, following a bulldozing run from Ally Miller, sewed up the win for Scotland.

The final match of the weekend saw Grand Slam contenders Wales pull off a 16-10 victory over previously undefeated France at Parc Eirias.

The game was a stodgy affair to begin with, as both sides looked to win the battle up front and little else, and two scrum penalties, which Billy McBryde duly kicked, were the only moments of real note in a half which saw Wales go into the interval with a 6-0 lead.

France fought back with an early try from Alex Arrate after the break, but it was not to last, as dangerous winger Gabriel N’Gandebe was sent off for two yellow card offences in in the 56^th minute and left Les Bleulets with a man disadvantage for the final quarter. A George Gasson try ultimately sealed victory for Wales, following impressive build-up work from three stars of this Wales U20 side, Keelan Giles, Harrison Keddie and Leon Brown.

Wales will head to Bristol in two weeks to take on England, eying their first ever Triple Crown at this level. If they can navigate that hurdle, Italy are unlikely to prevent them from the Grand Slam in the final week of the competition. France and Scotland remain firmly in the hunt for the title, having lost just one game apiece so far, and they will duel it out in Scotland in round four, both hoping that England can dent Wales’ title ambitions. The final game of the round will see Italy travel to Ireland.