England Counties Under 20s 15 Scotland Under 20s 18

 If the England side were under any misconceptions about the calibre of the opposition following England Under 20s handsome win in the Six Nations Championship, they were  quickly removed by a powerful first-half display by the visitors.

Both sides managed only a single try, but England had to defend desperately at times to prevent the Scots getting a significant advantage via their territorial supremacy.   Fly-half Stewart Edwards opened the scoring after eight minutes for the visitors with a finely struck 40-yard penalty and his kicking repeatedly repelled the home side during their early incursions into the Scots half.

Scotland continued to defend resolutely when put under occasional pressure and also showed plenty of confidence and menace when they had the ball.
England replied the Edwards’ penalty after 18 minutes when a perfectly weighted chip by scrum-half Sam Arnott bounced nicely for wingman Rueben Haile to gather a canter home, but Scotland hit back 10 minutes later through centre Danny Gilmour.

A crooked feed at a scrum, an additional 10 yards for talking and a smartly-taken free kick did the damage before full-back Stuart Hogg ran well before slipping the scoring pass to Gilmour.   Slippery wingman Kerr Gossman then had England at full stretch on a couple of occasions, chasing a threatening kick ahead and then showing great nimbleness, but England held out and the half closed with full-back Stuart Hogg and fly-half Aaron Penberthy landing injury time penalties for Scotland and England respectively.

The resumption brought an increase in tempo from the home side and with a greater share of the game territorially, they were able to exert decent spells of pressure for the first time. Though they were still guilty of losing the ball against a robust Scotland defence, they held their footing in the Scotland half and were rewarded on the hour when hooker Ben Sowery drove over from close range for a trade-mark score, Penberthy converting.
Though England continued to have the better of the game, the Scottish defence was tenacious and well-organised, while the threat presented by the back division was obvious throughout.

Eventually it proved to be the cutting edge which brought victory. On 68 minutes Scotland attacked powerfully through the middle and when England found themselves over-committed, Hogg had pace to spare as he accelerated round the struggling defence for a try that he converted.
England had a chance to rescue the game with a lineout on the Scotland line in injury time, but on this occasion the visitors defended manfully to claim the prize.

“I think we saw an excellent performance by a side that was put together in two or three days, well-coached and well-prepared,” said Counties Manager Malcolm Ross: “Scotland have been together for a while and showed a bit more edge. Scotland were a good side and we saw an excellent game of rugby with some terrific football.
“I think they should all be very proud, The represented England extremely well.”

Coach Bob Hood echoed the sentiments when he said: “I thought this was a really good start to the Counties Under 20s project. To come up against a side that is competing in the Junior World Cup with all the preparation they’ve had and do as well as they did has given this team real merit. We could have won the game with a bit more attention to detail and one or two different decision, so although we’re disappointed with the defeat, I’m pleased with the way the project has gone.
Said Scotland coach Peter Wright: “We wanted the fixture to give us a game with some physicality ahead of games like South Africa and the England side were a physical team, so we get a boost out of winning. Defensively we were very good and we battled hard and we managed to take the couple of chances we had.
“And for our guys, it’s the experience of beating an English team and competing very well against a physical side.”

England Counties Under 20s: Chris Surman (Loughborough University, South West & Gloucestershire); Jamie Harrison (Broughton Park, North & Lancashire), Peter Homan (Middlesbrough, North & Yorkshire), Elliott Brierley (Macclesfield, North & Cheshire), Reuben Haile (Cinderford, South West & Gloucestershire); Aaron Penberthy (Redruth, South West & Cornwall), Sam Arnott (Southend, South West & Gloucestershire); Tom Channon (Newton Abbot, South West & Devon), Ben Sowery (Wharfedale, North & Yorkshire), Matt Shields (Tynedale, North & Northumberland), Josh Beaumont (Fylde, North & Lancashire), Miles Normandale (University of Wales Institute Cardiff, Gloucestershire), Liam Wilkinson (UWE Bristol, South West & Gloucestershire), Joe Atkinson (Loughborough Un/Petersfield, London & SE & Hampshire), Ben Sparks (Stourbridge, South West & Gloucestershire) capt,

Replacements used: Tom Emery (Lydney, South West & Gloucestershire), Tom Harrison (UWE Hartpury, South West & Gloucestershire), Carl Kirwan (Middlesbrough, North & Yorkshire), Joe Pass (Derby, Midlands & Notts, Lincs & Derby), Brett Turner (Lydney, South West & Gloucestershire), Ben West (Newbury, South West & Berkshire), Andrew Murray (Nuneaton, Midlands & Warwickshire)

Scotland Under 20s: S Hogg (Hawick/Glasgow Warriors); G Bryce (Heriots), S Atkin (Edinburgh Accies), D Gilmour (Stirling County), K Gossman (Glasgow Warriors/Glasgow Hawks); S Edwards (Stirling County), S Kennedy (Stirling County); A Allan (Loughborough Un), R Ferguson (Melrose), C Philips (Stewarts Melville), M Todd (Nottingham), R McAlpine (West of Scotland), J Swanson (Boroughmuir), G Runciman (Melrose), J Tyas (Bath).
Replacements used: M Lyness (Edinburgh Accies), G Hunter (Glasgow Warriors), R Hislop (Edinburgh/Boroughmuir), M Eadie (Bristol), A Spence (Heriots), A Redmayne (Dundee HS), B Colvine (Melrose), C Jackson (Melrose), J Clark (Team Northumbria), H Mountain (Team Northumbria), J Forbes (Watsonians)