England U20 15 - Scotland U20 6
By NUFC George
February 2 2013
Brickfields, Friday 1st February 2013
A Friday night game at Brickfields with a good crowd of nearly 5000 in very windy conditions, along with two evenly matched sides set the scene for what turned out to be a very good evening of rugby.
Scotland kicked off with the wind at their backs, from the kick off England allowed the ball to bounce inside the 22, recovered and tried to pass the ball out from defence, however the Albion curse kicked in and England knocked on.
The first 20 minutes was a little bit like a boxing match with both sides sounding each other out, England generally dominated the scrums, however a penalty was awarded within 5 minutes when Kyle Sinckler collapsed the scrum and Scotland opted for the three points which was converted by Tommy Allan.
In the 7th minute England were awarded a penalty for not rolling away, Henry Slade took a kick into the wind which narrowly missed.
Shortly after Scotland had to make an early substitution with Keith Buchan the Scottish full back sustaining an Injury.
12 minutes in saw Ben Howard made a line breaking run, which only came to an end when he appeared to lose his footing in the ground and Scotland recovered. England continued to pressure with Henry Slade sending a grubber kick into Scotland’s 22 only for Scotland to fly hack back the ball towards England’s 22 the foot race ended with England kicking the ball into touch.
In the 20th minute Scotland’s Jamie Bhatti was rightly penalised for going in from the side, the kicking game then continued until England broke, however once again Ben Howard was caught just outside the 22.
23rd minute Watson made another great break, but once again they turn the ball over.
on 25 minutes England set up a rolling maul, but the ball was ripped by Scotland, however this was deemed illegal and the referee yellow carded Ruaridh Leishman. From the scrum England drove towards the line, then Alex Day passed the ball to go out wide - however, he hit Max Crumpton in the chest to knock on once more. England then retrieved the ball and continued to apply the pressure by opting for a scrum against a 14 man Scotland. Again Scotland concede a penalty, leaving the referee no option but to award a penalty try, which was converted by Henry Slade.
Straight from the kick off Scotland applied pressure and were awarded a penalty for their efforts. Again Tommy Allan converted.
Half time 7-6 to England, in a half which England dominated, although making mistakes at crucial times, Scotland looked quicker at the breakdown. England have a number of players who look good in difficult conditions, namely Watson at fullback, Cowan Dickie at Loose Head, Ross Moriarty at 6 and Ben Howard on the wing.
As the 2nd half got underway, I expected England to dominate now that they have the wind in their favour. How wrong I was.
The first set piece - a line out to England - and again the Albion curse continues - not straight at the lineout.
The second half continued similar to the first with a lot of ball in the air, with Scotland taking overall territorial advantage. The commitment shown by both sides was evident in the 46th minute a high ball by Scotland was held up in the wind with Arnott & Sinclair fully committed they clashed in the air with Arnot unlucky and knocking on.
The second half turned into a war of attrition with Scotland spending the first 20 minutes in England’s half without really threatening.
In the 54th minute Scotland were warned when Will Bordill cleared the man off the ball. From the resultant play, something you don’t often see is the prop Kyle Sinckler kicking and chasing, eventually England were awarded a penalty. Henry Slade took the kick and the points were awarded, however all in the Redrow thought it had missed, TMO time, for some strange reason the points stood.
Scotland continued to show endeavour and were still quicker to the breakdown. The introduction of Ali Price at scrum half seemed to quicken the distribution of the ball from the back of the rucks, however handling errors continued to frustrate England. Danny Hobbs Awoyemi & Scott Wilson were introduced to bring on fresh blood.
Awoyemi made an immediate impression in the first scrum and England are awarded a penalty, however this time Henry Slade misses to the right.
Scotland then brought on Cameron Turner, who was on for less than a minute before beingsin binned in his first contact, with Watson going off injured as a result of the tackle being replaced by Will Hooley. From the resultant penalty, Slade hit the post.
A long penalty kick from Slade in 70th minute puts Scotland back on their 5 meter line but once again the England lineout is not straight, Scotland clear.
In the 74th Minute a penalty awarded to England saw Slade kicking to touch deep in the Scotland half. From the resultant line out, England apply pressure and Cowan Dickie scores reaching out over the try line - England 15 Scotland 6.
In conclusion, a game that England should have won more comfortably, if it was not for errors at crucial times and a dogged Scottish defence. Sky awarded man of match to Henry Slade, my man of the match Luke Cowan Dickie.
Overall a good night out and I hope that people enjoyed it and come back for the Brickfields experience.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.
Fantastic to see an Red Rose XV playing in PL2 and to see 5k -odd of fans filling the Brickfields.
Good evening, but damned chilly!
Come cheer up, my lads - 'tis to glory we steer!
Semper Sersum.
Regards,
Paul.