England U20 Men beat Scotland in Six Nations opener
England U20 Men got their Six Nations campaign off to winning ways, downing Scotland 24-41 in Edinburgh.
Alan Dickens' men ran in six tries at the Dam Health Stadium in Edinburgh, securing an impressive bonus-point victory.
- England: Tries - Arundell, Knight (2), Carr-Smith, Grayson, Litchfield | Cons - Benson (4) | Pens - Benson.
- Scotland: Tries - Leatherbarrow (2), Melville, Hiddleston | Cons - Townsend (2).
England dominated possession and territory from kick off, pinning the hosts deep inside their own half thanks to a flurry of early penalties, though nothing came of the resulting lineouts.
Scotland struck first, scoring on their first visit to England's 22. No.8 Ollie Leatherbarrow crashing over from close range on the 13-minute mark.
England drew level thanks to a sublime solo score courtesy of Henry Arundell, who ran the entire length of the pitch off a defensive scrum, scrambling around Scottish defenders and cantering over the line unopposed.
Leatherbarrow's second try was converted by Christian Townsend, putting the hosts 12-5 up, but England captain Toby Knight had the final say of the half, barrelling over off the back of a rolling maul to cut the deficit to two points at the break.
England found themselves under immediate pressure at the start of the second half, sharp attack from Scotland wing Ross McKnight on the right side of the pitch was the catalyst behind an Ollie Melville try on the left side of the pitch.
Undeterred, England fought back, and an easy offer of three points on the 50-minute mark was duly converted by Jamie Benson, before a converted Tom Carr-Smith try moments later gave England the lead for the first time.
With 15 minutes remaining Scottish replacement Olujare Oguntibeju was shown a yellow card, and the visitors took immediate advantage, as Knight crossed for his second try of the evening. Benson's successful conversion extended England's lead to 17-27.
From the restart George Hendy ran the length of the pitch to set up Ethan Grayson for England's fifth try, and Tom Litchfield bagged number six in the final minutes of the match. Benson converted both to make it 17-41.
Gregor Hiddleston powered over for a Scotland try in the 83rd minute, securing a losing bonus point.
Teams
England
15. Henry Arundell (London Irish), 14. Deago Bailey (Bristol Bears), 13. Tom Litchfield (Northampton Saints), 12. Ethan Grayson (Northampton Saints), 11. Ollie Dawkins (Wasps), 10. Louie Johnson (Newcastle Falcons), 9. Tom Carr-Smith (Bath Rugby), 1. Mark Dormer (Newcastle Falcons), 2. John Stewart (Bath Rugby), 3. Mikey Summerfield (London Irish), 4. Alfie Bell (Wasps), 5. Tom Lockett (Northampton Saints), 6. Alex Wardell (Saracens), 7. Kofi Cripps (Wasps), 8. Toby Knight (c) (Saracens).
Replacements
16. Jasper Spandler (Bath Rugby), 17. Will Hobson (Harlequins), 18. Robin Hardwick (Wasps), 19. Charlie Rice (Bristol Bears), 20. Gregg Fisilau (Wasps), 21. Matty Jones (Gloucester Rugby), 22. Jamie Benson (Harlequins), 23. George Hendy (Northampton Saints).
Scotland
15. Robin McClintock, 14. Ross McKnight, 13. Duncan Munn, 12. Mike Gray, 11. Ollie Melville, 10. Christian Townsend, 9. Jed Gelderbloom, 1. Tom Banatvala, 2. Patrick Harrison, 3. Gregor Scougall, 4. Josh Taylor, 5. Max Williamson, 6. Matthew Deehan, 7. Rhys Tait, 8. Ollie Leatherbarrow.
Replacements
16. Gregor Hiddleston, 17. Mikey Jones, 18. Callum Norrie, 19. Jake Spurway, 20. Olujare Oguntibeju, 21. Sinjin Broad, 22. Euan Cunningham, 23. Ben Evans.
Fixtures & Results
Scotland 24 - 41 England
Italy v England - Friday 11 February - KO 7pm
England v Wales - Friday 25 February - KO 7pm
England v Ireland - Saturday 12 March - KO 7.15pm
France v England - Sunday 20 March - KO 8pm
