England on top in bruising opening encounter

England emerged as 39-18 victors in their opening game of the U20 Championship in Narbonne. With the bonus point secured just after half-time, England will be delighted with their impressive performance against a competitive Argentina side. They will now hope to build on this performance as they prepare to face Italy at the weekend.

A warm afternoon in Narbonne as England begin
their U20 Championship campaign

               In a slightly nervous opening, England’s misfiring set-piece and handling errors looked reminiscent of a disappointing performance against the Junior Boks three weeks ago. After falling behind, England regained their composure and took control of the match. Their opening score came from Leicester winger Jordan Olowofela, dotting the ball down after some hard yards from the forwards.

                England, now growing into the game, had their second score shortly after. Hooker Henry Walker, finding his man at the lineout 5m out before joining the back of a driving maul and finishing off the try. Argentina retook the lead with some strong carrying despite valiant English defence.

It was England, however, who ended the half in the lead with a try epitomising the style of play England require. Captain Ben Curry, demonstrated his excellent skill at the breakdown, as well as his physical defensive effort, to earn England a penalty. With the forwards creating quick ball it gave England opportunity to unleash their backline, this time Fraser Dingwall linked up well with Jordan Olowofela, who crossed for his second try of the day.

England came firing out of the blocks in the second half. An excellent running line from Josh Basham, who carried well throughout, earned England a long-range penalty, which Tom Hardwick converted.

England further extended their lead shortly afterwards with their bonus point try. With Argentina pinned deep inside their territory, a well-executed lineout gave England excellent field position. This time Ben Curry showed his deft touch, as a neat ball to Henry Walker, running a good supporting line, found him through a hole and under the posts; the Gloucester hooker picking up his second score of the day.

The pace of the game began to slow down as replacements were made and the physical nature of the contest began to take its toll on the sides. An exchange of penalties kept England well in front, with Argentina unable to threaten a well drilled England side.

The final score of the game came a few minutes from time. This time the English backline keen to show its prowess. A quick lineout just inside the England half found the star man Olowofela once again, as he danced past would-be tacklers. The excellent run stopped just inside the Argentine 22m, but an offload found replacement fly-half Marcus Smith on his shoulder, who crossed for his first try for England.

A convincing victory for England will delight Steve Bates and the coaching staff. Despite Argentina’s physical game, and some early jitters, England controlled the vast majority of the game. A professional and composed performance will put to rest any doubt following a slightly disappointing Six Nations campaign.

The England side looked like a well drilled unit, with forwards looking both strong defensively and adept with ball in hand, Ben Curry & Josh Basham the pick of the crop. The backline looks like it could well live up to the high expectations it has been set. Despite losing Ali Crossdale early, Jordan Olowofela is likely to create a selection headache with his excellent performance as he competes with Gabriel Ibitoye and Ben Loader.

England will now begin preparations for Sunday’s fixture against Italy in Perpignan. The Italian side will prove no pushovers, as they beat Scotland in their opening game with a last-minute try. England will need to continue the form they found in their opening fixture and will be hoping to set their sights on a high seeding for the semi-finals in two weeks’ time.

England U20: Ones to Watch

England have named a strong squad for this seasons U20 Championship in France, with talent and experience, they will be one of the favourites going into the tournament. While the squad rotation rules will ensure that everyone tastes competitive action, England will hope several key names will propel them into the final once again. Here are five names to watch out for;

Ben Curry, flanker (Sale Sharks)

                The flanker has been in and out of the England set-up, last appearing in the 2017 U20 Six Nations. However, he has excelled at Sale, laying claim to no less than 24 starting appearances over this season alone, crossing the whitewash eight times. While he offers outstanding defensive work and ball carrying, it is his breakdown work which sees him stand out. In a time when loose forwards have been unable to make the same impact as in years gone by, Ben has found a way. With his ability and experience he is likely to be a key leader for this England squad.

Gabriel Ibitoye, winger (Harlequins)

                While he may not have exploded onto the club scene in the same way, Ibitoye is well versed in the England shirt. He started all five games in the previous U20 Championship, and is one of only six players in the squad that took part in last year’s final. With explosive pace and power to match, Ibitoye has proven himself a handful for opposition defences. If England can utilise their backline, he will undoubtably create opportunities, as well as having the ability to finish them.

Joel Kpoku, lock (Saracens)

                As a late addition to the fold, Kpoku made his England age group debut just a few weeks ago against the Junior Boks. With Dino Lamb ruled out of the tournament through injury, Kpoku is a more than adequate replacement. He has had an outstanding season playing for Saracens Storm and caught the eye of head coach Steve Bates and is the next lock on the outstanding production line that crafted Maro Itoje & now Nick Isiekwe. Kpoku is following a similar mould to the locks before him, with an abrasive and clinical play style, expect to hear him leading from the frontline.

Ben Loader, winger (London Irish)

                Ben Loader has ended the season in great form and may be peaking at just the right moment for the U20 Championship. The winger scored a try as he made his Premiership debut against Bath on the final day of the season. He then crossed the whitewash again against the Junior Boks for England, showing his powerful running as he bumped off the would-be tacklers. Loader may have been flying under the radar until now, but his recent performances are likely to mark him out as a dangerous talent. Linking him up with the experienced campaigners like Will Butler & clubmate Tom Parton, is just what he needs to finish off his exciting season.

Marcus Smith, fly-half (Harlequins)

                It is hard to imagine anyone predicting the season this 19-year-old has had. 29 appearances for Harlequins amassing over 1,900 minutes played and 208 points, the Premiership Young Player of the Season award, and time as an England senior squad apprentice player. Marcus Smith has exploded into English rugby and now has the chance to shine at age-group rugby. Despite his age, he has shown composure, maturity, excellent game management, precise distribution and quality kicking. If England can get as much out of him as his club side have, he is more than capable of being England’s star man, unlocking their dangerous backline, controlling matches and winning games.  

                With the quality available in England’s squad, is it hard to see them not progressing to the latter stages of this years U20 Championship. This group will have been frustrated to have let a Grand Slam slip through their fingers against Scotland in this years Six Nations, and there are a number of players that will remember the agony of such a heavy defeat to New Zealand in last year’s final. But, as is clear from the squad announced, England will be aiming for nothing short of a fourth U20 Championship title come the final day in Beziers.

England U20 announce exciting 28-man squad for Rugby Championship

England have announced a talented 28-man squad for this years U20 Rugby Championship in France next week. Several experienced players have been drafted in to support a number of exciting young talents, most notably Premiership Young Player of the Year, Marcus Smith. England will be hoping to continue their run of five consecutive final appearances, but with such a strong squad they will hope to go one better than last year, when they lost to New Zealand in the final.

Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith has had a breakthrough year and has laid claim to the starting fly-half shirt at the Stoop. The 19-year-old is likely make his first start for England U20 at the tournament, linking up with the squad for the first time since last years U20 Six Nations. He will be a key playmaker in unlocking a dangerous England backline, with the likes of Harlequins teammate Gabriel Ibitoye and London Irish winger Ben Loader.

The squad will be buoyed by the return of experienced campaigners Ben Curry & Ciaran Knight. Loosehead prop Ciaran Knight is one of six players that took part in the final loss in Georgia last year that are in the squad for this year. His experience will be key in supporting players who will be making their first appearances at a Rugby Championship. England will be delighted to have back-row Ben Curry joining the squad after his success, alongside twin brother Tom Curry, at Sale Sharks. His tenacious tackling and breakdown work will create a real threat for England, even without the ball.

                England have made a number of call-ups since the disappointing loss at the hands of the Junior Springboks at the start of May at Sixways. One player who has kept his spot is Saracens lock Joel Kpoku. Having flown under the radar in the England set-up for some time, Kpoku has impressed for Saracens Storm this season and now has the chance to shine for England. His abrasive nature, similar to his club counterpart Maro Itoje, will help England’s physicality, something which was lacking against the Junior Boks.

                England will open their campaign on Wednesday 30^th May, where they’ll play Argentina in Narbonne. They will then face familiar opponents in the final two pool games against Italy (3^rd June) and Scotland (7^th June), before moving into the semi-finals and finals. With such a talented squad and real strength in depth available England will be hoping to add a fourth Championship to their collection.

England U20 Squad

Backs

Rory Brand, Will Butler, Ali Crossdale, Fraser Dingwall, James Grayson, Tom Hardwick, Gabriel Ibitoye, Ben Loader, Jordan Olowofela, Tom Parton, Marcus Smith, Ben White

Forwards

Josh Basham, Ben Curry, Beck Cutting, Joe Heyes, Ted Hill, Aaron Hinkley, Ciaran Knight, Joel Kpoku, Sam Lewis, Gabriel Oghre, Ehren Painter, James Scott, Alex Seville, Toby Trinder, Henry Walker, Tom Willis

Junior Boks outclass a misfiring England

The Junior Springboks finished their UK tour with an impressive third victory, this time over England at Sixways. The England side, playing their first game together, were shown they have work to do as they begin to prepare for the U20 RWC in June. England open their campaign against Argentina in Narbonne in less than three weeks’ time.

The England side, which were runners-up in this years U20 Six Nations, found themselves without a number of star names. Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Marcus Smith & Cameron Redpath all missing with the senior England camp next week. They were also without Gabriel Ibitoye, Dino Lamb, Tom Hardwick, Will Butler & Marcus Street who were all unselected.

England looked unprepared when compared against a Springbok side which has already had two convincing wins on their tour. They were 41-3 victors against Scotland in Edinburgh and 41-5 winners over Wales. They will provide stiff competition in France, as they’ll hope to improve on their third-place finish last year in Georgia.

South Africa opened the scoring early, excellent handling saw the visitors score in the corner. England spent time camped on the South African try line but some aggressive defence saw England unable to convert the position into points. However, England eventually got on the board with excellent work from London Irish duo Tom Parton & Ben Loader. A turn of speed and precision pass from Parton found Loader. With three men to beat, Loader stayed strong in the tackle, and broke free to finish in the corner.

South Africa came out faster after the 20-minute water break, in preparation for the hot weather expected in France.  After the forwards putting pressure on England, it left scrum-half Rewan Kruger with half a gap which he darted over to score. England had opportunities to put pressure on the Springboks before half time but a number of set piece errors, particularly at the lineout, cost the home side dearly.

England made a number of changes at half-time, ensuring the whole squad got game time before the squad for France is announced. England looked brighter at the start of the second half, but South Africa continued to show poise as they kept England pinned back deep inside their half. England, attempting to attack from deep gave good position to the Junior Boks, who didn’t need a second invitation. This time another powerful driving maul saw South Africa extend their lead to 19-7.

England eventually found themselves in good position inside the opposition 22m. England showed their own power in their forwards as a driving maul made 10m from a lineout and was finished by replacement hooker Henry Walker. England were looking for a score to take the lead for the first time in the game with 5 minutes left on the clock. However, South African inside centre Rikus Pretorius capped off his impressive performance with an interception in the midfield which saw him race away 50 metres to score under the posts.

The final whistle saw South Africa 26-12 victors in a game they controlled and dominated throughout. England will undoubtably improve before the start of the tournament in France, but the performance highlighted a number of areas they will be keen to work on. A number of issues at the set piece will be a key focus to ensure England don’t waste opportunities to score. They will also need to improve their physicality up front as they are likely to face a similarly ferocious side in Argentina in their opening game.

There is also work to do in the backline as, despite the talented individuals, they failed to link-up to great effect. Much like the set pieces, this is likely to improve as the squad spend more time together. However, England may be helped by greater consistency in selection during the World Cup, as this team was the sixth different fly half & centre pairing in as many games.

There were several positives performances for England to take moving forward. There was a very impressive debut for Saracens lock Joel Kpoku, his physical presence and abrasive game something England seemingly lacked in parts. Ollie Lawrence also continued to impress at outside centre, as he was two years younger than some of his fellow compatriots. England will also be delighted to have Tom Parton back from injury as he looked a steadying influence at full-back, as well as showing his pace and precision for England’s opening try.

England will need to be up to speed quickly before their opening game of the U20 Rugby World Cup in Narbonne on Wednesday 30th May against Argentina. They will then play Italy on Sunday 3rd June in Perpignan, before hoping to put right their mistakes against Scotland in the Sex Nations, as they play their final pool game on Thursday 7th June in Beziers.