England U20 finish on a high with win over Scotland

England under-20s claimed third place in the Six Nations table as they ran in seven tries to down Scotland 45-7 at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday evening.

Tom de Glanville cancelled out Cameron Anderson's early opener for the visitors, but England’s momentum was stunted when Ollie Fox and Ollie Lawrence saw their tries ruled out by TMO.

Tom Willis crossed to give England the half-time lead before his side scored 32 second-half points to finish off their final match of the Championship in style.

England dominated early possession, but it was Scotland who struck first when centre Anderson intercepted on the halfway line to run in unopposed and Ross Thompson added the conversion.

But the home side responded immediately to the early setback, full-back de Glanville skipping past the Scottish defence to dot down and reduce the deficit before Manu Vunipola – on his England Under-20s debut – added the extras.

England thought they edged in front when Fox crossed, but the try was disallowed for the ball bouncing into touch and the score remained locked 7-7 for a further 15 minutes as Vunipola missed a penalty from midway inside Scotland’s half.

Steve Bates’ side pushed forward in numbers but missed another opportunity to take the lead as centre Lawrence had a try ruled out for a double movement.

England were handed a let-off just before the break as Ross Thompson became the third player to have a try disallowed in the opening 40 but finally found their own breakthrough when Willis crossed just seconds before the whistle. Vunipola missed the conversion as England went in 12-7 up at half-time.

England made a bright start to second-half proceedings, pinning Scotland into their own half for lengthy periods and extended their lead on 56 minutes when De Glanville found Aaron Hinkley on the right who stretched over to put victory in sight. Vunipola added the conversion this time to make it 19-7.

Minutes later, Lawrence split open the Scottish defence with explosive pace and offloaded for Cameron Redpath who darted down the right wing to pull Bates’ men further clear.

England’s third try of the second half came when replacement prop Alfie Petch crossed from close range before Alfie Barbeary powered over minutes later for the fourth.

A dominant second-half performance was topped off when winger Arron Reed latched onto a loose bounce and ran the length of the pitch to extend the lead, with Vunipola adding the extras for England's third win of the tournament. 

via SixNationsRugby.com