Harlequins prop Joe Marler led the way as England’s powered past Wales in the opening game of the RBS U20 Six Nations.
The loose head from Sussex barged his way over for two tries as England pulled away from a dangerous Welsh side in the second half – then held on after Newcastle Falcons No. 8 Alex Gray was sent off for stamping.
Marler was followed over by hooker Jamie George (Saracens), captain Jacob Rowan (Leeds Carnegie) and replacement centre Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby).
Fly half Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby) added three conversions and two penalties and Tom Homer (London Irish) a further two conversions.
Wales had opened the scoring, fly half Matthew Jarvis kicking three penalties and wing James Loxton sliding over in the first half.
Coach Mark Mapletoft was delighted with the win: “In the second half I was very pleased and to score five tries against a very good Wales side made me delighted for our guys,” he said.
“We had a similar experience in the Junior World Championship semi final against South Africa in Tokyo last summer.
“In the first half we just didn’t play and then it was a case of déjà vu here with an almost identical second half when the guys came out and played.
“It’s about self-belief and to be able to say ‘we are better than you and we’re going to show it’. I hope we can take that through the Six Nations and beyond. To score five tries is a testament to the ambition we have. These guys can play and they’ve just got to have that self-belief.”
Marler was in agreement about what spurred England on: “It was all about belief. We’ve got the ability and the talent and it’s about believing in ourselves. In the first half it wasn’t there and it took a few words at half-time to make us realise we were a better side than what we did in the first half.
“It’s great to see the forwards handling and offloading and that’s what the game’s all about. You don’t want to play for your country and not enjoy yourselves and it’s good that we’re allowed to play that way.
“England against Wales is always a tough game, I was really looking forward to the confrontation and in the second half we just did the best we can.
“The sending off [of Alex Gray] just spurred us on. The fact that it had happened made us work even harder and it shows the unity in the side that we just didn’t panic.”
Let’s hope the senior side can play with the same spirit when they open their RBS Six Nations campaign at Twickenham.
England U20: Tom Catterick (Newcastle Falcons; Jonathan Joseph, London Irish 52); Will Hurrell (Leicester Tigers), Tom Homer (London Irish), Rory Clegg (Harlequins), Sam Smith (Harlequins); Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby; Jonny May, Gloucester Rugby 56), Sam Harrison (Leicester Tigers; Sam Stuart, Harlequins 76); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Jamie George (Saracens; Rob Buchanan, Harlequins 75), Shaun Knight (Gloucester Rugby; Lee Imiolek, Sale Sharks 57), Calum Green (Leicester Tigers; Charlie Matthews, Harlequins 71), James Gaskell (Sale Sharks), Will Welch (Newcastle Falcons; Jackson Wray, Saracens 67), Jacob Rowan (Leeds Carnegie, captain), Alex Gray (Newcastle Falcons)
Scorers: Tries: Marler 2, George, Rowan, May. Conversions: Burns 3, Homer 2. Penalties: Burns 2
Wales U20: Dan Fish (Blues); James Loxton (Blues), Owen Williams (Blues), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Kristian Phillips (Ospreys); Matthew Jarvis (Ospreys), Rhys Downes (Blues); Dan Watchurst (capt, Dragons), Rhys Williams (Blues), Simon Gardiner (Scarlets), Macauley Cook (Blues), James King (Ospreys), James Thomas (Dragons), Josh Navidi (Blues), Morgan Allen (Pontypool).
Replacements: Ieuan Davies (Glamorgan Wanderers), Trystan Davies (Scarlets), Lloyd Peers (Ospreys), Toby Faletau (Dragons), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Lee Rees (Scarlets), Matthew Pewtner (Dragons).
Scorers: Try: Loxton. Penalties: Jarvis 3.