England’s performance against Wales on Friday night in Round Two of the U20 Six Nations brought back to life rugby’s old cliché of ‘forwards win you the game and the backs decide by how many.’ Captain Ben White was instrumental in keeping his forwards on the front foot for the majority of the game.
Captain Ben White hails Forward Dominance
England’s pack dominated in the scrum, giving no let-up to their Welsh counterparts in the process. Their unrelenting power and might in the maul pushed Wales back as they struggled to compete in the loose.
White was named as captain by head coach Steve Bates in the absence of Ben Earl. The 19-year old scored his second try in only his second game at U20 level, to help his side to the bonus point win.
History Makers … ?
Ben White and Tommy Reffell, the first #TigersFamily ? players to captain international sides against one another pic.twitter.com/2jrW37gaHi
— Leicester Tigers (@LeicesterTigers) February 9, 2018
A 37-12 victory that will live long in the memory as a game where both forwards and backs combined brilliantly for the full 80 minutes. ”The forward pack had an unbelievable platform for us to play off. They bettered Wales physically and the backs executed” said White, speaking to LWOR writer Aaron Tillyer after the game.
“It was the reason why we won in the end. The scrum, lineout and maul had to be on the money and it was. We knew Wales were going to be big set-piece-wise. We handled the territory game really well and absorbed Wales in the first 20 minutes.
”We raised the tempo and showed what we can do – we played really well.”
There were also scores for Cameron Redpath and a stunning solo effort from Gabriel Ibitoye. Tries also came from Jordan Olowofela and Aaron Hinckley. White was extremely pleased at the result, and responsibility handed him.
“ITS AN UNBELIEVABLE FEELING TO BE NAMED AS CAPTAIN. IT’S ONE I’LL NEVER FORGET. YOU ALMOST CHERISH IT.”
A second win for England and a another bonus point victory puts the reigning champions, on equal points with France. That side have shortened the distance to England, as a result of their comprehensive 69-19 defeat to Scotland.
England and France Leading the Way
Scotland; being England’s next opponents in Edinburgh on February 23, are still to pick up their first points in this year’s championship.
With both England and the French leading the way, their crucial tie in Béziers next month could be the deciding factor of who goes on to lift the trophy.
Après cette 2e journée, l’équipe de #FranceU20 est en tête du @SixNationsRugby ! Prochain rendez-vous dans 15 jours contre l’Italie ! #PrêtsAuCombat pic.twitter.com/ydZbYhsApu
— FF Rugby (@FFRugby) February 9, 2018
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Round Three of the 2018 Under20 Six Nations championship kicks off on Friday, February 23 with the following fixtures:
- France v Italy – Stade Jean-Laville
- Ireland v Wales – Donnybrook
- Scotland v England – Myreside
“Main photo credit”
Embed from Getty Images
