England miss out on U20 title after defeat by Wales

Six Nations Men’s Under-20s

Wales (13) 23

Cons: Wilde 2 Pens: Wilde 3 Tries: S Emanuel, Rees-Weldon

England (13) 13

Wales’ remarkable victory at Cardiff Arms Park earned England a remarkable win over England in the Under-20 Six Nations championship, which is their first Grand Slam since 2021.

After capturing the title by beating Scotland by bonus points, France moved past Mark Mapletoft’s countrymen England, who had been chasing the same title for a while.

For England’s opening try, hooker Kepu Tuipulotu scored a sumptuous one-handed offload, which was assisted by prop Ralph McEachran.

Before Steffan Emanuel raced clear for the hosts as the teams went into the break tied 13-13, the score was maintained by six points each from the boots of Harri Wilde and Ben Coen.

As home fans began to think they could shock victory, Richard Whiffin’s side took the lead thanks to a stunning acrobatic finish from Wales wing Harry Rees-Weldon, who ratcheted up the volume and increased the volume.

Wales’ lead now reached 10 points thanks to the completion of their first victory over their rivals in five years thanks to fly-half Wilde’s third successful penalty kick.

As their first defeat since 2023, the hosts’ brutal defense, led by skipper Harry Beddall and international player Harry Thomas, kept England scoreless in the second half.

The biggest thing was the audience, hooker Thomas said, “From the beginning, it was like a 16th man.”

“These fans were mental, and we can’t thank you enough for what Welsh rugby needs week in and week out,” he said.

England has been [talking] all week, so we made it personal and that reflected what we wanted more.

Up until the final setback in Cardiff, where indiscipline and handling errors proved costly, Mapletoft’s side had been a class above their rivals this campaign.

Junior Kpoku was penalized close to Wales’ line in the closing stages for a push on what was a frustrating night for the visitors, while Wing Jack Bracken received a late yellow card for taking his opposite number out in the air.

England captain Tom Burrow said, “It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, and we will have to take a long, hard look at ourselves.”

Before the World Rugby Under-20 Championship this summer, “We have three months to correct some mistakes.”

Wales brought fury, and we knew that their defense was very strong, no matter what we do together out there.

Wood, Trevett, O James, Evans, C James, Edwards, Price, Woods, and others.

England: Pearson, Bracken, Hall, Allison, Coen, Hanson, McEachran, Tuipulotu, Raymont, Sodeke, Burrow (capt), Kpoku, Timmins, James, and Bracken.

Gulley, Scola, Maka, Ainsworth-Cave, Treacey, Davis, Bellamy, and Lilley are the replacements.