U20s RBS Six Nations R4 Round Up

The 2016 U20 Six Nations has been thoroughly enthralling thus far and the penultimate round this past weekend certainly delivered.

Wales all but locked up their first ever championship at U20 level, thumping England 42-16 in Bristol on Friday night. The young dragons were in rampant form, scoring four unanswered tries to start the match, before England were able to claw one back prior to the break through Sam Smith, leaving the score at 28-10 at the interval.

Two Mat Protheroe penalties, as well as improved execution and line speed, brought a brief glimmer of hope for the home side, but it was short-lived, as a Harri Keddie try made it a three-score game with just over 10 minutes left to play. This left England with too much to do and too little time to do it in. Keelan Giles put the icing on the cake with a late try, cementing what was a hugely impressive performance from Wales

Scotland and France, who both sat just two points behind Wales in the table going into the round, also did battle on Friday night, with the visiting French side showing their ability in a 36-21 victory.

Les Bleulets’ dominant scrum was a considerable weapon in their arsenal and saw them get on the scoresheet in the opening minutes with a penalty try. The boot of Adam Hastings and a try from Ben Robbins was an effective riposte from Scotland, but a late Martin Laveau try saw France regain the lead and take a 17-14 advantage into the break.

Impressive Clermont centre Damien Penaud was the first to strike in the second half, finishing off a flowing move from deep within the French half, establishing a 10-point lead for the visitors and putting all the pressure on Scotland.

Matt Smith struck back for Scotland, running off a powerful Scottish maul and dotting down to bring Scotland to within a score of France, with less than 20 minutes left to play. It was a tense affair from that point on, with both teams keen to avoid any errors, but when Judicael Cancoriet charged down a Scottish kick and collected it, he was able to cross the whitewash and re-establish France’s two-score lead and see out the game.

The other game of the round saw Ireland and Italy play out a relatively meaningless fixture, with both teams out of the title contention and nothing more at stake than pride. Ireland put on a second half comeback to ultimately win 19-13 in Donnybrook, but it was another frustratingly error-strewn performance from the men in green.

As France did in Scotland, Italy dominated the scrum contest against Ireland and used the set-piece as a foundation for the majority of their attacking play. A Giovanni Pettinelli try and two Leonardo Mantelli penalties gave Italy a very unexpected 13-6 lead at the interval.

Brett Connon erased those two Mantelli penalties with a pair of his own early in the second half, before outside centre Shane Daly was able to make his way over the line and complete Ireland’s comeback, wrapping up an unconvincing win on home soil.

Going into the final round of the tournament, Wales have all but wrapped up their first ever Championship and Grand Slam, sitting comfortably atop the table with four wins from their four games. They welcome Italy to Wales this weekend and despite the Italians solid performance against Ireland, they shouldn’t pose too much of a threat to the champions-elect.

France could yet sneak ahead of Wales should Italy upset all the odds and win in North Wales, and Les Bleulets will be anything but daunted by their final opponents, England. Regardless of whether or not the title is up for grabs, France will certainly be fired up to get one over on their arch rivals. Ireland will host Scotland to finish their tournament, again, with little more than pride at stake.