England U18s heavily defeat Portugal in Euro championship
By RFU
March 28 2015
ENGLAND have won their opening Under 18 European Championship match this afternoon with an emphatic victory over Portugal 85-5 in France.
The young England side scored an impressive 13 tries against their Portuguese opponents with right winger Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins, Trinity) blazing the way, touching down four times. The bulk of the damage was done in the opening 40 minutes with England scoring eight unanswered tries as they went into the break with a significant 54 point lead. Ibitoye picked up his hat trick try at the beginning of the second half before England piled on 17 points in six minutes with tries from Will Evans (Leicester Tigers, Wyggeston & QEI College), substitute Will Allman (Northampton Saints, Trent College) and Joe Craggs (Newcastle Falcons, Gosforth Academy). Portugal scored an unconverted try to register their only points half way through the second spell but it was the in form England and Trinity winger who finished proceedings off with his fourth try with nine minutes remaining. Head Coach John Fletcher said after the match: "We scored 13 tries which takes some doing against any side. The pitch was good and suited the way we wanted to play and we scored some good tries. “It was pleasing from an attacking point of view we scored a variety and we kept on going. We went in at half time well up but we didn’t lose our focus too much in the second half. “We kept trying to score so that was pleasing. We managed to get all 23 players some game time today and fortunately we didn’t pick up any injuries so we go into the next game with everybody fit and available.” England will face hosts France on Tuesday after they beat Scotland 22-10 this evening. In other games today, Italy beat Wales 14-13 while Georgia beat Ireland following a penalty goal shoot out after the scores were level 8-8 at full time. England have won the European title the previous three seasons. Points: Gabriel Ibitoye 4T, Charles Capps 1T, Zach Mercer 2T, Johnny McPhillips 1T, 10 Con, Sam Aspland-Robinson 1T, Curtis Langdon 1T, Will Evans 1T, Will Allman 1T, Joe Craggs 1T England squad to v Portugal 15. Johnny McPhillips (Newcastle Falcons, Sedbergh School) Replacements (all used) 16. Dan Frost (Bath Rugby, Filton College) Tournament schedule: Friday 27th March Tuesday 31st March
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France 23 – 19 England
England U18 fell to their first defeat of the European Championships in France this evening, losing by a four point margin.
Despite showing real promise in attack, resulting in tries from Jake Pope, Alex Mitchell and Josh Caulfield, England failed to overcome a strong French outfit.
The opposition maintained the lead throughout the fixture in Blagnac, scoring two tries and 13 points off the boot.
Head coach John Fletcher said:
"We knew France would be a tough opposition and that was proved right this evening. Against a team of France's quality, you can't afford to give them the chances we did and that cost us. We couldn't maintain enough pressure on France for long enough periods.
"But despite the score line I was pleased with the effort from the players; they didn't let up and we were pushing hard for a try at the end. They are disappointed with the result, however the players will learn from it and produce a good performance in our last game this weekend."
England’s attention will now turn to their final game of the European Championships on Saturday, April 4 in Toulouse. Opposition TBC.
England U18
15. Darren Atkins (Bath Rugby, Millfield School)
14. Sam Aspland-Robinson (Harlequins, Wellington College)
13. Dominic Morris (Saracens, New Hall School)
12. Max Malins (Saracens, Felsted)
11. Paolo Odogwu (Leicester Tigers, Leicester Grammar School)
10. Theo Brophy Clews (London Irish, Abingdon School) (C)
9. Alex Mitchell (Sale Sharks, Lymm HS)
1. Jake Pope (Sale Sharks, Myerscough College)
2. Dan Frost (Bath Rugby, Filton College)
3. Charlie Capps (Prince Henry’s, Yorkshire Carnegie)
4. Josh Caulfield (Exeter Chiefs, Bicton College)
5. Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, Haileybury College)
6. Archie White (Harlequins, Epsom College)
7. Will Allman (Northampton Saints, Trent College)
8. Zack Mercer (Bath Rugby, Merchiston Castle School)
Replacements:
16. Curtis Langdon (London Irish, St Pauls Sunbury)
17. Oliver Dawe (Exeter Chiefs, Bicton College)
18. *Jack Edmondson (Bath Rugby, Sherborne)
19. *Tim Cardall (Northampton Saints, Moulton College)
20. Joe Craggs (Newcaslte Falcons, Gosforth Academy)
21. Will Ewans (Leicester Tigers, Wyggeston & QEI College)
22. Jack Maunder (Exeter Chiefs)
23. Mark Dixon (Sale Sharks, Lymm HS)
24. Max Wright (Yorkshire Carnegie, Prince Henry’s)
25. *Gabrial Ibitoye (Harlequins, Trinity College)
26. Johnny McPhillips (Newcastle Falcons, Sedbergh School)
*Denotes those players not used.
England points: Jack Pope 1T, Alex Mitchell 1T, Theo Brophy Clews 1C, Josh Caulfield 1T, Johnny McPhillips 1C