England U18 clinch dramatic late win
By RFU Press Office
April 18 2011
England U18 38 Wales U18 34 England U18 dramatically secured their place in the final of the FIRA/AER Championship after overcoming neighbours Wales 38-34 at the Stade Jaques Fouroux in Auch, France.
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England U18 38 Wales U18 34
With seconds left on the clock and England 34-31 behind, London Irish wing Anthony Watson touched down for John Fletcher’s men to clinch a tight win. At one point, England found themselves 17 points behind Wales, but clinical finishing in the final ten minutes ensured a memorable victory. Exeter Chiefs full back Jack Nowell got England off to a dream start, showing a quick turn of pace to dart in between two Welsh players before touching down just wide of the post with one minutes on the clock. Fellow Chief Henry Slade added the conversion and then scored a penalty to give England a 10-0 lead. Despite the early setback, Wales soon sprung into life and were eventually rewarded for their efforts, scoring two converted tries in quick succession to give them a 14-10 lead. Wales then added two penalties before the break to give them at 10-point cushion at half time, leading 20-10. England needed to start the second half as they had done the first, but it was Wales who took the early initiative, scoring shortly after the restart to make the score 27-10. Northampton Saints prop Danny Herriott then kick-started the England resurgence, burrowing over for England’s second try. But that was almost instantly cancelled out, courtesy of a breakaway fourth Welsh try scored soon after the restart to reestablish their 17-point lead. With ten minutes left to play, England scored again through the lively Nowell, who touched down for his second try of the game. Northampton Saints fly half Will Hooley converted, but England still trailed by ten points. Mark Jennings then scored his second try in as many games after a nice side-step move freed up a gap for the Sale Sharks centre to touch down near the posts, Hooley converted to bring England to within three points of Wales. With 70 minutes on the clock (the games are 35-minutes each way), Watson used his explosive pace to its full effect, dodging several Welsh defenders before diving over between the posts to guarantee England’s spot in the final against Ireland in Tarbes on Saturday, April 23. England points: Jack Nowell 2T, Danny Herriott 1T, Mark Jennings 1T, Anthony Watson 1T. Henry Slade 2C, 1P, Will Hooley 3C.
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Monday April 18, 2011
Issued by Stefan Curtis
England U18 Head Coach John Fletcher
After witnessing his England U18 side clinch victory with the last play of their FIRA/AER Championship semi-final, Head Coach John Fetcher has said that England played some of the best rugby he’s seen.
London Irish wing Anthony Watson went over the line with seconds left to play to secure a 38-34 win, and Fletcher said:
“For the last 15 minutes we were outstanding, It’s some of the best rugby any Under 18 team that I’ve coached have played. The game could have gone either way, but often when you finish games the strongest you come out on top.
“It was a close one – we cut it quite fine, but you have to play for the full 70-minutes. We started quite brightly, getting an early try, but we were second best for the rest of the half. I was really pleased with the second half effort though, we came out and increased the intensity and moved them around. We though that if we did that we’d create a few gaps, and fortunately that’s what happened.”
England will now face Ireland in the final after the Irish beat hosts France 19-17 in the other semi-final. Fletcher's side have already played Ireland this season, beating them 29-12 in Dublin in December, but the former Newcastle Falcons Head Coach has said that England can't take anything for granted:
“It’s irrelevant what has happened in the past," Fletcher said. "Ireland have beaten a strong French side and they’ll be up for the final. At this level it’s about who turns up on the day, the margins between the elite sides in the northern hemisphere are marginal but we’re confident that we can produce.”