U18 Six Nations Festival Weekend Round Up

Wins for Scotland, England and Wales in their Round Two U18 Six Nations games played on Saturday in Cork.

Ireland’s final game of the U18 Six Nations Festival against Italy will be played at Cork Institute of Technology at 2.30pm on Tuesday, April 1st, and not at the Mardyke as previously advertised.

Remaining U18 Six Nations Festival Fixtures.
Tuesday April 1:
Ireland V Italy, Cork Institute of Technology. 2.30pm
Scotland V England, Musgrave Park, 2.30pm
Wales V France, Temple Hill, 2.30pm


WEEKEND ROUND UP

Scotland 25 Ireland 11
Musgrave Park.

Ireland suffered a second loss at the U18 Six Nations Festival as they went down to the Scots at Musgrave Park.

Scotland got off to a good start when Alex Blair put three points on the board just a minute in but Ireland’s start got better when some strong runs from number 8 David O’Callaghan and winger Michael Allen won them some good territory.

Noel Reid struck a penalty after five minutes to level things up however Blair’s fine start continued when he picked a perfect line inside Ireland’s 22 to touch down the first try and his conversion gave Scotland a solid 10-3 lead.

Allen was involved again as Ireland put together some good attacking play but Scotland scrapped well on the ground to force a number of turnovers.

Ireland had plenty of possession but Scotland’s defence was well organised and the home team found a breakthrough almost impossible.

Scotland’s tally was increased when Blair added another penalty after Ireland killed the ball and centre Michael Kelliher was sent to the bin.

Scotland made the most of their numerical advantage when Blair notched another converted try after a fine display of offloading involving captain Stuart McInally and outhalf Ross Aitken.

Blair was forced off injured in the 34th minute after making a 20-point contribution and on came Matthew Tait, the son of senior Scottish backs coach Alan, who has been in the Scots U18 coaching camp this week.

Ireland finished the half strongly with Diarmuid McCarthy making some good ground out wide and skipper Brian O’Hara showing well but Scotland still led 20-3 comfortably at the break.

Ireland picked it up after the break with Michael Allen again providing the pace out wide and when Scotland captain Stuart McInalley was binned for killing the ball, the home team pressed hard for a score.

Reid knocked over a penalty to get his side back into the game but Scotland made sure of the win when McInally got on the end of a sweeping move upfield and touched down to add five more points.

Scotland finished the game with 13 players when both Grant Gilchrist and Jason Hill were carded and Ireland finally made their advantage count when Gavin Nugent dived over after some good pack play.

Scorers Scotland: Alex Blair 2 pens, 2 tries, 2 cons, Stuart McInally try.
Scorers Ireland: Noel Reid 2 pens, Gavin Nugent try,

Scotland: Tom Brown (Edinburgh Acadmey), Rory Drummond (Bell Baxter / Howe of Fife), Alex Blair (Edinburgh Academy), Alec Dunbar (Annan), Seamus McKenzie (Murrayfield Wanderers), ), Ross Aitken (Bell Baxter / Howe of Fife), Alex Black (Prince Henrys School), Luke Pettie (Gala Wanderers), Alun Walker (Musselburgh), Nicky Little (Hawick),Calum Connor (Bradford Grammer), Robert Harley (West of Scotland), Michael Maltman (Musselburgh), Michael Fedo (Bell Baxter / Howe of Fife), Stuart McInally (George Watsons College) (captain)
Replacements: Michael Tait (Kelso Quins) (for Blair 34), Max Learmonth (Berwick) (for McKenzie 35), Grant Gilchrist (Stirling County) (for Connor 50), Sam Hughes (Merchiston Castle School) (for Brown 55), Russell Weir (Merchiston Castle School) (for Black 55), Craig Owenson (Musselburgh) (for Petite 65), Jason Hill (Stirling County) (for Fido 68)

Ireland: Noel Reid (St Michael’s College), Diarmuid McCarthy (Castletroy College), Michael Kelliher (St Munchin’s College), David McSharry (Templeogue College), Michael Allen (Methodist College Belfast), Luke Marshall (Ballymena Academy), David O’Driscoll (Presentation Brothers College Cork), Brian Cagney (Presentation Brothers College Cork), Niall Annett (Methodist College Belfast), Jack O’Connell (Clongowes Wood College), Patrick Butler (Rockwell College), Ben Marshall (St Andrews College), Dominic Ryan (Gonzaga College), Brian O’Hara (Presentation Brothers College Cork) (captain), David O’Callaghan (Midleton College)
Replacements: Mark Atkinson (Grosvenor Grammar School) (for McSharry 15), Jason Bloomfield (Coleraine Academical Institution) (for O’Driscoll 45), Brian Hayes (Christian Brothers College Cork) (for Marshall 60), Craig O’Hanlon (St. Munchin’s College) (for Kelliher 60), James McKinney (Campbell College) (for Marshall 68), Gavin Nugent (Presentation Brothers College Cork) (for Reid 68), Martin Moore (Castleknock College) (for Cagney 70), Paul Pritchard (Ballymena Academy) (for Ryan 71), Richard Bent (St. Mary’s College) (for Butler 72)

Referee: Cyril Lafon (France)

England 18 France 0
Cork Institute of Technology.

England made it two wins out of two in Cork on Saturday as they beat France 18-0 in a tough game in the second round of the U18 Six Nations Festival.

Coming off the back of a massive win over Italy earlier in the week, England came into the game with plenty of confidence but with France seeking to make up for their opening loss to Scotland this was always going to be a tough outing.

England’s pack started the game in impressive form and forced France into some superb defending.

France provided a physical test for the English up front but out wide it was England who looked to have the cutting edge with Rory Clegg combining well with centres Andy Forsyth and captain Tom Cassons.

Their good start was rewarded when hooker Jamie George crashed over after a line-out catch and drive effort and Clegg added the extras.

The score remained at 7-0 at half time but England came out firing and Clegg knocked over a penalty to push the lead out.

France struggled to deal with some hard running from England’s midfield and when flanker Jacob Rowan finished off a penetrating move, it looked like England had made certain of the win.

Replacement out-half Freddie Burns did that when he came on and dropped a goal towards the end of the half.

England Coach Alex Sanderson said: "This was a good result even though I am slightly disappointed that we missed a few opportunities. The lads, however, stuck to the structure and our game plan and that paid off. I was also really pleased with our scrummaging and driving mauls against a good French pack.

"There’s one more game to go now against Scotland on Tuesday. Now, we have to regroup, see how the lads are and get ready for our final match which we will of course be hoping we can win to end our season on a high."

Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)

Scorers England: Jamie George try, Rory Clegg pen, con, Rowan Jacob try, Freddie Burns drop-goal

England: Tom Catterick (Barnard Castle & Newcastle Falcons), Will Hurrell (Wyggeston & QE1 College & Leicester Tigers), Andy Forsyth (QEGS Wakefield & Leicester Tigers), Tom Casson (Sedbergh & Sale Sharks), Sam Smith (Cranleigh & Harlequins), Rory Clegg (Barnard Castle & Newcastle Falcons), Jordi Pasqualin (The King’s School Gloucs & Gloucester Rugby), Joe Marler (Richmond College & Harlequins), Jamie George (Haileybury & Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Millfield & Bristol Rugby), Tom Holmes (Sandbach & Sale Sharks), James Gaskell (Sandbach & Sale Sharks), Rob Milligan (Rugby School & Northampton Saints), Jacob Rowan (Bradford GS & Leeds Carnegie), Alex Gray (Barnard Castle & Newcastle Falcons)
Replacements: Sam Harrison (John Cleveland College & Leicester Tigers) (for Pasqualin 36), James Currie (Millfield & Bath Rugby) (for Vunipola 49), Joe Trayfoot (Epsom College & Harlequins) (for Milligan 54), Lee Imiolek (Myerscough College & Sale Sharks) (for Marler 65), Joe Barker (QEGS Wakefield & Leeds Carnegie) (for Rowan 65), Sam Harrison (John Cleveland College & Leicester Tigers) (for Clegg 65), David Blackwell (Hartpury College & Gloucester Rugby) (for George 65), Tom Homer (Milton Abbey & London Irish) (for Forsyth 65), Christian Wade (RGS High Wycombe & London Wasps) (for Hurrell 65)

France: Sonny Falconetto (Toulon), Valentin Tourenne (Brive), Joran Salgues (Perpignan), Hugo Chevalier (Toulon), Lucas DuPoint (Grenoble), Amaury Geneste (Begles), Julien Cabannes (Mont de Marsan), Anthony Maury (Montferrand), Kevin Le Geun (Begles), Paul Oliver (Beziers), Sullivan Guyon (Orleans), Joris Archimbeau (Montpellier), Julien Petrod (Bourgoin), Florent Brunet (Perpignan), Antoine Erbani (Agen).
Replacements: Victor Muret (Bourgoin) (for Oliver 27), David Tarroque (Toulouse) (for Maury 32), Gilles Arnaudies (Perpignan) (for Erbani 36), Adrien Domec (Biarritz) (for Tourenne 36), Adrian Gach (Bourgoin) (for Guyon 36), Mickael Ivaldi (Toulon) (for Le Guen 43), Teddy Iribanen (Toulouse) (for Cabannes)

Wales 43 Italy 10
Mardyke, Cork.

Wales continued their good run of form in the U18 Six Nations Festival with a convincing win over Italy at the Mardyke.

Though the scoreline suggests that this was an easy win for Wales, they were made to work hard for every score as Italy were much more competitive than they had been earlier in the week against England.

Wales though are a powerful side with plenty of skill out wide and when fullback James Loxton went over for a try after just a minute, it quickly looked like it would be another convincing win for the Welsh who defeated Ireland in their opening game earlier in the week.

Liam Powell added another try out wide and with the extras from Chris Lewis Pratt they took an early 14-0 lead. Italy though showed some good fight and the likes of hooker Andrea Manici came storming into the game and their good pack play saw outhalf Fillipino Michelini dash through the defence to score.

Wales got back into with another try, this time from flanker Morgan Allen but they leaked another try before the break when lock Paolo Stinchelli barged his way over the line.

Wales were more potent in attack at the start of the second half and early tries from Loxton, James Thomas and Ieuan Coombes really killed the game off.

Italy did themselves no favours when they had two players sent off following a scuffle and from there it was one-way traffic for Wales who added further points through Coombes again and Lewis-Pratt with the boot.

Wales coach Simon King said that he was pleased with the big scoreline.

"We made nine changes from last week and still managed to score 43 points so I have to be happy with that. Italy gave us a big physical challenge but it was good to see that we took the chances we created and we have players in this squad who take the opportunities they get and take some good scores. Two wins for us is good so far and we look forward to the last game."

Scorers Wales: James Loxton 2 tries, Chris Lewis Pratt 4 cons, Liam Powell try, Morgan Allan try, James Thomas try, Ieuan Coombes 2 tries,
Scorers Italy: Fillipino Michelini try, Paolo Stinchelli try.

Italy: Michele Mortali (Gran Parma Rugby), Sebastian Rodwell (Firenze), Ricciardi Costantino (Petrarca), Tommaso Benvenuti (Viadana), Nicola Belardo (Partenope), Fillippo Michelini (Viadana), Alberto Chillon (Petrarca), Matteo Zamparo (Amatori San Dona), Andrea Manici (Gran Parma), Edoardo Carugi (Firenze), Fillipo Cazzola (Montebelluna), Paolo Stinchello (SSD Unione Capitolina), Fillppo Ferrarini (Noceto FC), Gabriele Cicchinelli (SSD Unione Capitolina), Lorenzo Santelli (ASD Universita Cosenza), (captain)
Replacements: Giovanbattista Venditti (SSD Unione Capitolina) (for Belardo 38), Antonio Denti (Viadana) (for Carugi 45), Nicola Corbanese (Ruggers Tarvisum) (for Zamparo 45), Edoardo Gori (Cavalieri) for (Chillon 51)

Wales: James Loxton (Blues), Liam Powell (Exiles), Scott Williams, Ashley Beck (Ospreys), Adam Hughes (Dragons), Chris Lewis Pratt (Exiles), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Gareth Jenkins (Ospreys), Ceri Davies (Ospreys), Stewart Maguire (Dragons), , Lloyd Peers (Ospreys), James King (Scarlets), Morgan Allan (Ospreys), James Davies (Scarlets), James Thomas (Dragons) (captain)
Replacements: Tom Crandon (Dragons) (for Stinchelli 23), Dave Francis (Dragons) (for Allan 41), Ieuan Coombes (Dragons) (for Powell 41), Rhys Jenkins (Dragons) (for Davies 42), Rhys Downes (Blues) (for Davies 48), Rhys Williams (Blues) (for C Davies 55), Simon Gardiner (for Maguire 55), Daniel Watchurst (Dragons) (for Jenkins 58), Matthew Jarvis (Ospreys) (for Williams 65)

Referee: C Brett (Scotland)