England U20s slip to defeat against Wales

By Mark Stevens
6/3/20

England Under-20s slipped to a second successive Six Nations Championship defeat, this despite a rousing second half fightback against Wales at Gloucester’s Kingsholm Stadium.

The hosts - who included Exeter Chiefs trio Richard Capstick, Rus Tuima and Sam Maunder in their starting line-up - trailed 14-5 at the break with Wales scoring tries via Sam Costelow and Bradley Roderic, while Emmanuel Iyogun crossed for Alan Dickens' side.

Second-half scores from George Barton, Sam Crean and Jack Van Poortvliet put England ahead but Costelow's late drop goal, as well as two earlier penalties sealed victory in front of a crowd of just over 7,000.

Head coach Dickens said: “Tonight’s game highlights the fine margins between winning and losing and unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the result. We were a lot better in the second half, we scored some good tries and put them under pressure and the key learning from tonight is when we score and then receive the kick off we need to get out of our third. We didn’t do that efficiently enough and we were punished.

“The players are hurting and they need to learn how to channel that the next time they get an opportunity and the feeling in the dressing room is of immense disappointment. We feel we left two or three tries out there and weren’t clinical enough. I want the players to be proud of what they’ve achieved over the past few weeks and they need to go back to their clubs and work hard and get some game time under their belts as that is the best way of improving as a player.”

England U20s: 15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers), 14. Gabriel Hamer-Webb (Bath Rugby), 13. Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks) - captain, 12. Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby), 11. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), 10. George Barton (Gloucester Rugby), 9. Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs), 1. Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints), 2. Theo Dan (Saracens), 3. Cal Ford (Sale Sharks), 4. Hugh Tizard (Harlequins), 5. George Hammond (Harlequins), 6. Rob Farrar (Newcastle Falcons), 7. Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs), 8. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs).

Replacements: 16. Sam Riley (Harlequins), 17. Sam Crean (Saracens), 18. Harvey Beaton (Saracens), 19. Alex Groves (Bristol Bears), 20. Jack Clement (Gloucester), 21. Jack Van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers), 22. Will Haydon-Wood (Newcastle Falcons), 23. Josh Gillespie (Northampton Saints).

Tries – Iyogun, Barton, Crean, Van Poortvliet Conversion – Haydon-Wood

Wales U20s: 15 Jacob Beetham (Cardiff Blues), 14 Frankie Jones (Aberavon), 13 Bradley Roderick (Ospreys), 12 Aneurin Owen (Dragons), 11 Mason Grady (Cardiff Blues), 10 Sam Costelow (Leicester Tigers), 9 Ellis Bevan (Cardiff Met); 1 Theo Bevacqua (Cardiff Blues), 2 Will Griffiths (Dragons), 3 Ben Warren (Cardiff Blues), 4 James Fender (Ospreys), 5 Ben Carter (Dragons), 6 Ioan Davies (Cardiff Blues), 7 Jac Morgan (Scarlets – CAPT), 8 Morgan Strong (Ospreys).

Replacements: 16 Dom Booth (Scarlets), 17 Callum Williams (Scarlets), 18 Harri O’Connor (Scarlets), 19 Ed Scragg (Dragons), 20 Gwilym Bradley (Cardiff Blues), 21 Dafydd Buckland (Dragons), 22 Joe Hawkins (Ospreys), 23 Luke Scully (Worcester Warriors).

Tries – Costelow, Roderick; Conversions – Costelow (2); Penalties – Costelow (2), Drop-Goal - Costelow