Looking ahead to Round 3 of U20 Six Nations

Round 3 of the U20 Six Nations kicks off tomorrow and sees Scotland taking on the Italians, followed by France vs Wales, and will conclude with the titanic contest of Ireland against the English. All matches will be played at Cardiff Arms Park. 
 

 

Scotland vs Italy: 

 

The Scots are coming off a hiding from England last weekend – a result which they will be eager to rectify. Scotland were forced to play catch-up from the get-go against a very competent and clinical England team who will make a big challenge for the title this year. 

 

 

Italy were on the receiving end of a 2-point loss against France. It was a low-scoring affair in which the Italians struck first blood and the lead changed hands several times but, ultimately, France prevailed. 

 

 

Scotland and Italy are pushing up the bottom of the log with zero victories from the first two outings and are in desperate need of victories if they are to have any hope of rescuing their respective campaigns. 

 

 

Wales vs France: 

 

The French will take on the Welsh on the latter’s home turf as both sides look for improved performances from the last round. 

 

As touched on above, France’s victory over Italy was narrow and could have gone either way. It was a tight second half with only three points scored – indicative of how the defences tightened up in the second stanza. 

 

Wales fell to the powerful Irish in Round 2, 40-12, in a one-sided encounter at Cardiff Arms Park.  

 

 

Wales and France have each posted a victory so far in the tournament which is good enough for 4 points apiece. They both find themselves 6 points adrift of England and Ireland, however. Wales will need to put in a much better defensive shift as Ireland had little trouble punching holes where needed. At the same time, while France gave an admirable defensive effort, they were unable to put many points on the board last weekend against Italy. 

 

England vs Ireland: 

 

Round 3 saves the best for last with a clash of the titans as England take on the Irish. 

 

Number 1 spot on the log is currently occupied by Ireland, however, their hold on the position is only through points differences. Both sides are two from two in terms of victories and have shown great form in the tournament so far.  

 

Both England and Ireland posted 38 points in Round 1, despatching Scotland and France respectively. In Round 2, England had a comfortable win over the Scots before Ireland put Wales to the sword.  

 

All indications are that the Irish are full of confidence, as they have a right to be, and their set-piece has played a major role in their success so far. Their lineout forwards, in particular, have been outstanding.  

 

 Speaking on the Irish lineout, second-row Alex Soroka said: 

 

“I suppose we don’t have someone like a Tom Ahern that we did last year, who is a big lad. 

 

“I personally don’t think it makes that much of a difference if someone is two or three inches taller than you; it doesn’t really matter if you are quicker than them, if you have better technique, it is no problem. I think you saw that against Scotland. They have a big, tall 6’9″ lad – once we got our stuff right it was okay, no problem.” 

 

Quizzed on his thoughts regarding this weekend’s opponents, Soroka said: 

 

“I have been really impressed with their first two games against France and Scotland. 

 

“It is not just one threat, they can play through us, they can play around us; they have a very good kicking game, a very good set piece. We know we have to be at the top of our game in every aspect if we want to beat them. 

 

“I think it is pretty exciting to play against a team with that much quality in it. We want to show what we can do.” 

 

All things considered, it should certainly be one of the matches of the tournament between two very well-drilled and competent teams. 

 

 

 

Team Announcements

Scotland U20s Vs Italy U20s

Scotland

Alex Samuel returns to the starting line up to captain the side from the second row where he will partner Max Williamson who makes his third start of the campaign.

At prop, Cole Lamberton returns to the starting team alongside George Breese. Hooker Jamie Drummond retains his position after an impressive start last week against England, during which he made four turnovers in the 70 minutes he played.

Archie Smeaton returns to the blindside flank with Ollie Leatherbarrow, who had an impressive start and was Scotland’s try scorer last week, on the other side of the scrum, with Ben Muncaster packing down at No 8.

The half-back pairing from round one returns as Murray Redpath starts at scrum-half with Cammy Scott at stand-off.

Scott King moves to inside centre where he will partner Thomas Glendinning, who makes his first appearance of the Championship.

Italy

France U20's Vs Wales U20's

France

Wales

There are eight changes in total to the starting line-up which suffered defeat against Ireland in the second round.

Ospreys winger Tom Florence, centre Eddie James (Scarlets) and halfbacks Will Reed (Dragons) and Ethan Lloyd (Cardiff Rugby) get their first starts of the campaign in a freshened up backline while forwards Oli Burrows (Exeter Chiefs), Lewys Jones (Nevers), James Fender (Ospreys) and Christ Tshiunza are all elevated from the bench to make their first starts as well.

  

 

Ireland U20's Vs England U20's

Ireland

Temi Lasisi and Sam Illo return to the front row as the Ireland management continue to carefully manage resources and the squad’s workload, with Alex Kendellen once again captaining the side from the back row.

Head Coach Murphy has selected an unchanged backline as Jamie Osborne, Ben Moxham and Chris Cosgrave line up in the back three, with Connacht duo Cathal Forde and Shane Jennings continuing their midfield partnership.

Nathan Doak, who scored 20 points and was named Player of the Match for his performance against Wales last time out, is retained at scrum-half, with Tim Corkery named to start at out-half.

England

There are four changes to the starting line-up from England’s bonus point, 31-12 win against Scotland last week.

Charlie Atkinson (full back), Tom Litchfield (wing), Arthur Clark (second row) and Nahum Merigan (number 8) all make their first starts of this year’s competition.

There are also two positional changes, with Ewan Richards moving to blind-side flanker and Jack Clement completing the back row at openside. Jack van Poortvliet continues to captain the side from scrum half.

There are six changes among the replacements with Archie Vanes and Freddie Thomas returning to the match day squad and Orlando Bailey featuring after having started the first two matches.

Ollie Stonham could potentially make his U20 Six Nations debut on Thursday, while Tom Roebuck and Josh Gray are in line for their first Six Nations appearances during the 2021 campaign having both won caps in last year’s competition.