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England won. 29-12 I believe. The IRFU site says the defecit does not reflect the closeness of the game, and that the major difference was the size of the sides.

Ireland U18 12-29 England U18: Match report
Friday December 31, 2010
Issued by Stefan Curtis


John Fletcher




England U18 ran out 29-12 winners against Ireland U18 in Dublin after scoring four tries in an impressive display of free-flowing rugby at Donnybrook Stadium today (December 30).

Anthony Watson (St. George's College) got England off to a flying start in the 15th minute after he raced through several challenges to touch down, with Will Hooley (The Leys School) adding the conversion.

Ireland hit back ten minutes later through Luke McGrath who dived over after a sustained spell of Irish pressure, but with the conversion missed, England held on to a slender lead. That pressure continued right up until half time but the stout English defence held firm.

England struck first in the second half through the boot of Hooley who converted a penalty to put England 10-5 to the good.

But with 15 minutes left to play Ireland seized the initiative and scrambled the ball over the line for a disappointing try from England’s point of view. With the conversion successful, England found themselves behind for the first time in the match.

England U18 full back Jack Nowell (Truro College) put the away side back in charge of proceedings with ten left on the clock, scoring a brilliant solo try in the corner. Hooley’s replacement Henry Slade (Plymouth College) duly slotted over for the two extra points .

The momentum was with England now and replacement scrum half James Lightfoot-Brown (St. Paul's Catholic College) strengthened England’s lead, executing a lovely team move, with Slade again adding the conversion.
Jennings rounded off the victory

With the score 24-12 England really turned on the style, demonstrating brilliant expansive rugby and in the last minute centre Mark Jennings (Myerscough College) rounded the victory off by showing a superb turn of pace to score in the corner.

Head coach John Fletcher was delighted with the way England coped with the opposition’s physicality and praised the character of his players: “A lot of our players made their England debuts today, and although that showed early on, you have to remember that a lot of the lads haven’t played for a few weeks because of the weather.

“As the game went on I thought we grew into it and as we introduced the substitutes the level of intensity didn’t drop, in fact it probably improved if anything.”

Fletcher added: “Although the 29-12 scoreline may flatter us a little, I did think that we were the better side. A win like that can provide a catalyst for our whole season and hopefully it’s set the tone of what we expect.”

Man-of-the-match Jack Nowell summed up the mood in the camp after what proved to be a somewhat emphatic victory: “We managed to push on in the second half and if we play like we did in the last 20 minutes in every game then we will be a force to be reckoned with.

“I was delighted to go over for my try towards the end – it was quite an important one for the team as it put some daylight between the two sides. I could feel the Irish guy breathing right down my neck so I just kicked on and went over.

“We’ve bonded really well as a group and as a team and I think our performance reflected the unity we’ve got now and it’s up to us to build on that”



England U18 v Ireland U18
Player School Club

15 Jack Nowell Truro College Exeter Chiefs
14 Jack Arnott Ivybridge College Exeter Chiefs
13 Mark Jennings Myerscough College Sale Sharks
12 Sam Hill Ivybridge College Exeter Chiefs
11 Anthony Watson St. George's College London Irish
10 Will Hooley The Leys School Northampton Saints
9 Alex Day St. Joseph's College Northampton Saints
1 Luke Cowan-Dickie Truro College Exeter Chiefs
2 Nathan Morris Sedbergh School London Wasps
3 Danny Herriott Moulton College Northampton Saints
4 Dominic Barrow (C) Prince Henry's Grammar School Leeds Carnegie
5 Tom Jubb Oaklands College Saracens
6 Jack Clifford RGS Guildford Harlequins
7 Matt Hankin Haileybury College Saracens
8 David Sisi St. Paul's Catholic College London Irish
Replacements
Player School Club
16 Alec Hepburn Henley College London Wasps
17 Tom Smallbone Harrow School London Irish
18 Max Crumpton Oaklands College Saracens
19 George Sandford St. Paul's Catholic College London Irish
20 Gus Jones Eton College London Wasps
21 James Lightfoot-Brown St. Paul's Catholic College London Irish
22 Mitchell Tamiau Twyford C & E High School London Wasps
23 Henry Slade Plymouth College Exeter Chiefs



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010:12:31:10:21:34 by RFU: Press Release.

Ireland U18 12-29 England U18:Match reaction
Thursday December 30, 2010
Issued by Stefan Curtis

England U18 head coach John Fletcher

England U18 secured an impressive 29-12 victory over Ireland in Dublin earlier today. Tries were scored by Anthony Watson, Jack Nowell, James Lightfoot-Brown and Mark Jennings.

“First and foremost it was a really good Test match between two decent sides. When a game is finely poised with 10 minutes to go you know it’s a good one. I was pleased with the way we raised our game in those last 10 or 15 minutes – 12-10 down in Ireland with a pretty good crowd behind them, we showed a lot of character to come back.

“Although the 29-12 scoreline may flatter us a little, I did think that we were the better side. A win like that can provide a catalyst for our whole season and hopefully it has set the tone of what we expect.

“This is a fairly new squad – a lot of players made their England debuts today, and although that showed early on, you have to remember that a lot of the lads haven’t played for a few weeks because of the weather. As the game went on I thought we grew into it and as we introduced the substitutes the level of intensity didn’t drop, in fact it probably improved if anything.

“There were some good performances today – Jack Nowell at full back and Anthony Watson on the wing were impressive and moved well but everybody contributed to the win and I’m delighted. It doesn’t get much tougher than playing Ireland in Ireland – their senior team went and had a chat with them before the game so they were definitely up for it. They’re a better side now than they were last year and we’ve learnt a lot from this, I hope we can improve ourselves as a result of this win.”

England U18 captain Dom Barrow

“It was a really physical game – loads of graft from both sets of forwards, we knew that they would contest the breakdown and they did make it very tough for us. They were disruptive and in our faces, but that’s what it’s all about. All credit to our boys, we really dug in deep and pushed on in the final 10 minutes or so.

“There’s a great strength in depth with this squad, looking at our bench, any one of those lads could have started no problem and that’s exactly what you need at this level. We’ll have a lot more time together ahead of the 6 Nations which will be good because we are by no means a finished article.

“From a personal point of view I’m quite happy with my game. The set-pieces went pretty well, I thought we dominated the scrums but there’s still work to be done on our line-outs which is something we’ll improve on but Ireland gave us a good game today.”

England U18 man-of-the-match, try-scorer and full back Jack Nowell

“I was delighted to go over for my try towards the end – it was quite an important one for the team as it put some daylight between the two sides. I could feel the Irish guy breathing right down my neck so I just kicked on and went over.

“International rugby is definitely a step up from what I’m used to – It was much quicker and I think that suits my game. Ireland were very physical and it was a very tough contest – particularly in the first half. We did manage push on in the second half and if we play like we did in the last 20 minutes in every game then we will be a force to be reckoned with.

“We’ve bonded really well as a group and as a team and I think our performance reflected the unity we’ve got now and it’s up to us to build on that”

England U18 scrum half Alex Day

“We had to bide our time against them– Ireland really came out at us and we were on the back foot for long periods in the first half. Fortunately for us, the strength of our bench helped us over the line. It’s always a huge bonus when you see players coming on who you know can add something and make an impact.

“It was a physical contest, but we knew it would be. Obviously playing Ireland in Ireland is never going to be easy, they were noticeably up for it and we knew it would be a hard job to turn them over so we’ve done very well.

“We’re looking be the best team in the Northern Hemisphere, which is pretty much the title this side have had over the past two or three years, so it’s up to us to make sure we live up to that and we’ve made a good start today.

“From a personal point of view I thought I played quite well, although to be honest I’m quite surprised I have any fitness left in me after no games in recent weeks! It was my first start for England and it was quite emotional walking out with the rose on my chest, it was a shame we didn’t get to sing the national anthem because the Irish youth sides don’t sing theirs, but at least that’s something to look forward to if I’m lucky enough to play again.”

England U18 No. 5 Tom Jubb

“It was pretty physical out there – they were very hot on the breakdown but I think the strength of our bench told in the end and that’s what made the difference. We had a warm up game a few weeks back but that was nothing compared to this, the whole match-day feeling is something that can’t be replicated and the fact that it was a lot of players first match today added an extra bit of spice.

“We’ve got a lot of quality lads in the squad and we all trust one another and that’s so important at this level. It probably took a few of us a while to adjust to the pace of the game today but once we relaxed and found our rhythm, there wasn’t any stopping us. We want to be the best team in the world at this age grade and today was an important step in making that possible.”

Quote:

Slater582
England won. 29-12 I believe. The IRFU site says the defecit does not reflect the closeness of the game, and that the major difference was the size of the sides.

Yeah, but that's what every Celtic match report says after every defeat to an England age grade side.