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Head Coach Bryan Redpath has named the Scotland U20 team to face Italy U20 at Béziers’ Stade de la Méditerranée in the opening fixture of the World Rugby U20 Championship this Wednesday (30 May, kick-off 5.30pm GMT/ 6.30pm local time) – streamed live on worldrugby.org.
props Dunbar and Finlay Richardson. Jamie Hodgson and Racing Metro 92’s Ewan Johnson are named in the second-row, while Martin Hughes, Rory Darge and Northampton Saints’ Devante Onojaife complete the back-row. Head Coach, Redpath, said: “The squad have trained well since arriving in France last week and I’ve been impressed with their commitment and desire to get better every day. “We’ve chosen a side who we feel are the best prepared to go into Wednesday’s match. We’re focused and in a good place. “Italy are a strong team and a side we obviously know well after facing them in the U20 Six Nations. We’ve got to manage the game in the right areas, while our set-piece has to be spot on. We’re all really looking forward to the challenge.”
In Redpath’s first competitive game in charge, the team selection includes just three changes to the side that faced the Italians in the final match of the U20 Six Nations in March as centre Cameron Hutchison, hooker Finlay Scott and prop Ross Dunbar are named in the starting XV, while 12 of the matchday 23 have progressed through the BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy. Full-back Paddy Dewhirst and winger Logan Trotter – both try scorers against Italy two months ago – are joined in the back-three by Kyle Rowe. In the midfield, Hutchison returns to the starting XV after missing the entirety of the U20 Six Nations campaign due to injury. The Currie Chieftains star is named in the centre alongside Scotland captain Stafford McDowall. Stand-off Ross Thompson and Gloucester’s Charlie Chapman continue their half-back partnership. In the front-row, Jed-Forest hooker Scott makes his Scotland U20 debut and will pack down alongside
Scotland U20 team to face Italy U20 at Stade de la Méditerranée in the World Rugby U20 Championship this Wednesday 30 March (kick-off 5.30pm GMT/ 6.30pm local time) – streamed live on worldrugby.org
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U20 | Scotland 26 - 27 Italy 30/05/18 Scotland U20
Scotland U20’s World Rugby Championship campaign began in defeat as Italy scored a last-minute pushover try to spoil what would have been a deserved victory for Bryan Redpath’s young side. Scotland held a 13-7 lead at the break and looked to be heading for an opening group win when Paddy Dewhirst scored a sublime try to further extend the age-grade side’s lead on 55 minutes. However, the Italians – who grew into the match in the second-period – rallied when powerful winger Forcucci finished a well-designed attacking move. With a 26-22 lead heading into the final minutes, and both sides down to 14-men, the Italians crashed over the whitewash to hand the Scots a crushing defeat. U20 Head Coach Bryan Redpath was left understandably frustrated following the match in Beziers, but the former Scotland captain is adamant that his side can ‘can come back stronger from the experience.’ “It was a huge disappointment for the boys and myself,” said Redpath. “I thought they were outstanding for 90 per cent of the match, but there were three instances where we didn’t manage to get it right in the final five minutes and we learned tonight that you pay a heavy price for things like that at this level. “I’ve been brutally honest with the boys about that being a lesson in the reality of senior, international rugby. They need to learn from the experience because things like that will keep happening unless they are a bit more streetwise about making the right decisions and being accurate at key moments. I can’t question their work-ethic and desire. We led that game for 75 minutes. We were the better team overall, but we didn’t get out of the game what we put into it because of what we let happen in the last five minutes. “They have to be ready to go again in four days’ time because that game is coming whether we like it or not. As long as everyone is honest and take their share of
the blame, then I am firmly of the belief that we can come back stronger from the experience.” Scotland started the match the stronger of the two sides and took a deserved lead when scrum-half Charlie Chapman split the uprights with a well struck penalty. With stand-off Ross Thompson controlling the tempo from the pocket and centre pairing Stafford McDowall and Cameron Hutchison providing the go-forward in attack, Scotland had Italy on the back foot. However, despite the young Scots positive play, the Italians took the lead following a powerful scrum on Scotland’s five metre-line. As their scrum buckled under pressure, the referee had no other option but to award the penalty try. Scotland would answer immediately, however, as Boroughmuir prop Ross Dunbar added the finished touches to a well-executed lineout drive. With their tails up, Bryan Redpath’s side grabbed their second of the evening, and this time it was Chapman getting on the act. Following a steal and break by outstanding back-row Rory Darge, the ball ended in the hands of the diminutive scrum-half who shimmied his way over the whitewash from only metres out. Scotland would hold a narrow 13-7 lead at the break. Scotland’s positivity would again pay dividends as the age-grade side extended their lead only ten minutes into the second-half. Following a slick handling move down the touchline, the ball was eventually lobbed inside to full-back Paddy Dewhirst, who finished a move he had started. Italy’s persistence payed off however, and when a neat grubber danced into the arms of D’onofrio, the Italian winger had the simple task of diving under the sticks. Chapman would once again answer with a well-aimed penalty, but it was the Italians who had all the momentum. Forcucci powered over in the corner to bring his side to within four points of Scotland’s well-earned
lead. When try-scorer – Forcucci – was shown a yellow card, Scotland would have the numerical advantage heading into the final minutes, but when the Italians kicked a penalty to the corner, they would haveone last chance for glory. With Scotland backpedaling over their own whitewash, Italian replacement hooker Niccolo Taddia dotted down to seal the last-gasp victory.
U20 | Scotland 13-29 Argentina 03/06/18 Scotland U20
Scotland U20 lost their second match of the World Rugby U20 Championship despite a strong second-half showing which saw Bryan Redpath’s young side claw to within two points of a slick Argentinian outfit. Los Pumitas shot out to a 12-0 lead after only 20 minutes and looked to be heading for a comfortable victory, but when Callum McLelland scored an impressive solo effort it was game on heading into the second-half. Scotland had all the momentum when scrum-half Charlie Chapman confidently slotted home two penalties in the opening ten minutes of the second period
and the score remained 13-15 until the 70thminute. However, as fatigue set in, Scotland were served a cruel blow when the impressive Mateo Carreras romped home to make it a nine-point game heading into the final ten minutes. And with time expired Los Pumitas – who suffered defeat against Scotland’s next opponents, England, in the opening fixture of the tournament – were awarded a penalty try which secured the bonus-point and added gloss to the scoreline. Scotland captain, Stafford McDowall, was understandably frustrated following the loss, but remained adamant that his side will keep their heads up heading into Thursday’s England clash. “I think we gave ourselves a chance with around 15-20 minutes to go, but we just couldn’t keep hold of the ball and that’s what cost us. Argentina got two breakaway tries at the end there,” admitted McDowall. We’ll definitely pick ourselves up for the England game. We’ve obviously played them before in the Six Nations and we know what they’re all about. We know that we need to get a win in that last match. It was Argentina who shot out of the blocks to start the match as a powerful line break from back-row Sabtiango Grondona brought his side to within only metres of Scotland’s whitewash. With the young Scots’ defence drifting wide, stand-off Juan Bautista Daireaux stole a half-step on his opposite man before offloading to the supporting Juan Pablo Castro, who had the simple task of dotting down. Los Pumitas continued to probe at Scotland’s defence and it wasn’t long until they crossed for their second try of the afternoon. Winger Leopoldo Herrera was the man to finish a slick backline move which saw the ball worked out wide at pace.
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However, despite the early setback, Scotland began to grow into match and in their first meaningful attack of the afternoon, they were rewarded with seven-points. With the ball just over half-way, McLelland dummied inside to Devante Onojaife – throwing the Los Pumitas defence – before gliding round the trailing Argentinian defenders to dive under the sticks. It was a piece of magic from the Edinburgh stand-off and it brought Scotland U20 right back into the clash. Although Daireaux would nail a penalty on half-time to extend his side’s lead to 7-15, Scotland began the second period with a renewed confidence. Although openside Rory Darge would end as Scotland’s top defender with 17 tackles made, it was Heriot’s Martin Hughes who would wrestle his side back into contention. The blindside flanker carried brilliantly all afternoon, while his ability at the breakdown proved invaluable throughout the 80 minutes. As Charlie Chapman nailed a pair of tricky penalties, Scotland were within just two points and looking the side more likely to jump in front. The game would ebb and flow, and whilst Argentina would have a try chalked off due to a high tackle on Darge, there wasn’t a great deal between the two sides. However, on 71 minutes, Scotland were caught undone. As Daireaux once again shimmied through a gap, the ball was offloaded to the explosive Carreras who provided the coup de grace. Scotland would continue to battle, but as the Argentinian pack bruised their way over the line with time expired, the referee awarded a penalty try, which ultimately added shine to the scoreline. Scotland’s final group game is against Six Nations rivals England on Thursday (kick-off 8pm BST/ 9pm local time), with the match again streamed live on
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worldrugby.org. U20 | Scotland 10-35 England 07/06/18 Scotland U20
Scotland lost their final pool fixture of the 2018 World Rugby U20 Championship after conceding three second-half tries against a powerful England outfit. The game was in the balance at the break following Kyle Rowe’s late score, but the men in white – who held a slender 17-10 lead at half-time - found another gear in the second period and secured a deserved bonus-point win. Scotland will now face Ireland in the relegation playoffs next Tuesday (12 June, kick-off 3pm BST) at the Stade Aime-Giral in Perpignan. Scotland captain Robbie Smith – who led by example throughout the contest – was left frustrated by the full-time result, but believes his side will regroup ahead of next week’s pivotal fixture. “It was disappointing after that first-half performance – we were really in the game and sticking it to them – but we just came out in that second 40 minutes and made too many errors, and a team like England will punish you,” Smith admitted. “We talked all week about mauling against them. We
did that in the 6 Nations and it worked really well for us, but tonight they had obviously done their homework and, to be fair to England, they defended it really well. We’ll come back fighting. We’ve got another game in five days time to get it right, that’s the beauty of this tournament. We’ll be back to try and get as high a placed finish as possible. England shot out to an early lead after a slick handling move saw the ball shipped wide to winger Gabriel Itoye. The Harlequins product, who beat two defenders in the process, showed great strength and agility to finish in the corner. Bryan Repath’s side reacted instantly, however, and when England were caught handling at the breakdown, stand-off Ross Thompson split the uprights to get his side on the board. Although Scotland showed heart in defence, England’s power up-front would soon pay dividends. Hooker Beck Cutting would firstly barrel over the whitewash following a well-executed lineout drive, before second-row James Scott wriggled over the line to cap of a six-minute period of dominance which saw England drive into a 17-3 lead. Following a high-tackle on Thompson, England’s fullback James Grayson was sent to bin on 26 minutes and Scotland would take advantage of their numerical advantage. Camped on the English try-line, Thompson thread the needle with a neat grubber kick which saw the ball sit perfectly for Rowe, who finished with aplomb. Although Scotland trailed just 17-10 at the break, England were soon back on the front foot as Ibitoye finished once again in the corner – his side’s fourth try of the contest. Scotland peppered England’s whitewash - with number eight James Miller going close – but when
replacement Devante Onojaife was shown a yellow card for yet another high tackle, England proved too strong for the 14 men in blue. Second-row Joel Kpoku and replacement centre Matt Williams both scored in the final ten minutes to add further shine to the scoreline.
U20 | Ireland 29-45 Scotland 12/06/18 Scotland U20
Scotland confirmed their place in next season’s World Rugby U20 Championship after scoring six tries to defeat Ireland in this afternoon’s 9th place Semi-Final. Although it was Ireland who showed the early impetus - with the men in green shooting out to an eleven-point advantage - Bryan Redpath’s side rallied, scoring three consecutive tries, to take a 17-24 lead heading into the break at Perpignan’s Stade Aime-Giral. And it was only to get better for the young Scots as Guy Graham and Kyle Rowe both crossed the whitewash to cap off a twenty-minute period of dominance and extend Scotland’s already sizeable lead. Ireland’s Tommy O’Brien dotted down in the corner
to breathe life into his side’s fightback, but when number eight Devante Onojaife wrestled over the whitewash with just five minutes remaining, the contest was all but over. Scotland will now face the winners of Georgia versus Japan for a potential 9th place finish and captain Stafford McDowall believes his side will be full of confidence heading into the encounter. “This was a pressure game,” admitted McDowall. “And now we’ve got the win, the pressure is a bit off. We can really push on in this last game to get as high a finish as possible.” With McDowall controlling proceedings in midfield, Scotland were able to play an expansive style of rugby which resulted in a number of line breaks, nifty offloads and, most importantly, tries. “We talked about it during the week that we could get at them out wide because we’ve got a really dangerous back-three. “Kyle Rowe’s try in the second-half, following the burst in their twenty-two really finished them off. We knew we had momentum and then it was just about following our structure and playing in the right areas – which I think we did.” Support play has been something we’ve really worked on during the week. I think we left a few tries out on the field in our three pool fixtures. We trained hard and its really paid off. After scrum-half Charlie Chapman slotted home a penalty for the first points of the afternoon, Ireland took advantage of some slack Scottish defending to power into a two-score lead. Stand-off Harry Bryne firstly ducked under a tackle to slide under the sticks, before centre Peter Sylvester collected a well-judged grubber to touch down for his side’s second score in only 21 minutes.
Scotland would hit back immediately, however. With the young Scots driving for the Irish whitewash, prop Finlay Richardson was the man who touched down to put his side within touching distance. With only ten minutes to play until half-time, and Ireland down to 14-men, Scotland enjoyed their most dominant phase of possession. Finlay Richardson would firstly finish a slick handling move for his second try of the afternoon, before a clinical offensive drive saw the ball fed out wide to winger Logan Trotter, who finished with aplomb. Scotland’s dominance would continue into the second-half. With only eight minutes on the clock, Newcastle Falcons’ latest recruit, Guy Graham, took a sumptuous angled line – cutting the Irish defence instantly – and with only a handful of defenders trailing, the back-row collapsed over the line to add an exclamation point to the scoreline. Although Ireland enjoyed spurts of possession, Scotland were in the driving seat, and on 57 minutes the young Scots scored their fifthand the contest’s finest try. After winning a lineout in their own half, the ball eventually found the hands of Trotter who broke inside his opposite man, before the winger galloped 50 metres into the Irish twenty-two. With Ireland retreating, stand-off Callum McLelland showed slight of hand with a delayed pass to Ross Dunbar, who subsequently offloaded to the trailing Rowe. It was a brilliant team try and proved to be the coup de grace. Although Ireland showed heart with late tries from O’Brien and replacement Jack Daly, Scotland would not be denied. As Onojaife scored his side’s sixth of the afternoon with only five minutes remaining, the young Scots could breathe easy and look forward to a 9th place Final.
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U20 | Scotland 31-39 Georgia 17/06/18 Scotland U20
Scotland’s 2018 World Rugby U20 Championship campaign ended in defeat as they succumbed to a powerful Georgian outfit in this afternoon’s 9th place play-off. Although Scotland led 19-12 at the break following a first-half brace from winger Logan Trotter, Georgia scored 24 unanswered second-half points which ultimately proved to be insurmountable. Scotland did score two late tries to close the gap to just five-points, however, when Georgian stand-off Tedo Abzhandadze slotted home a last-gasp penalty, he provided the coup de grace which meant Bryan Redpath’s young side finish the tournament in 10th place. Scotland captain, Stafford McDowall, was left frustrated following the full-time whistle but was adamant that future is bright for the age-grade outfit. “I think with 20 minutes to go, a lot of people would have thought we were just going to fade out of the match, but I think it shows the character of this team to comeback and score two score tries, but unfortunately
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we fell just short in the end,” said McDowall. “I think we’ve picked up a lot of experience throughout the tournament and I’ve got no doubt that the younger players will take those learnings into next year’s championship. “A lot of the guys in the squad will no doubt go onto bigger and better things and It’s been a real pleasure playing with them.” Georgia took the lead after only four minutes as tighthead prop Luka Japaridze added the finishing touches to a clinical lineout drive. The impressive Georgian pack rumbled over from 15 metres out and Japaridze was on hand to dot down. Scotland answered immediately, however, and it was through Scotland’s front-eight that the equalizing score arrived. After a securing a lineout on Georgia’s five-metre line, the age-grade side committed 12 men to a potent rolling maul and with Robbie Smith guiding the ball over the whitewash, Scotland were on the board. Both sides would lose a man when Guy Graham and Gela Aprasidze were sent to the bin following a bust-up in midfield, but it was Scotland who would eventually take the lead. With the ball just shy of Georgia’s twenty-two, Logan Trotter switched on the afterburners after showing sumptuous footwork, and as the winger cruised under the sticks, Scotland held a deserved lead. After Winger Kote Marjanishvili touched down in the corner to tie the encounter, the Georgians had Scotland backpedaling on their own try-line, however, Trotter popped up once again to prove his weight in gold. As Georgia looked to be in for their third try of the afternoon, the winger brilliantly intercepted on his own five-metre-line before going coast-to-coast for the unlikely score. As Chapman chipped over the conversion, Scotland held led 19-12 at the break. However, with the wind on their backs, Georgia came out the blocks flying and immediately set about putting
Scotland to the sword. Tengiz Gigolashvili firstly pounced on a loose Scottish lineout to level proceedings, before replacement loosehead Guram Gogichavili rumbled over for Georgia’s fourth try of the contest. A few phases later Marjanishvili scuttled down the right wing to snatch his second and his team’s fifth try of the encounter, with 15 minutes still to go. Scotland appeared to have capitulated, however, when winger Kyle Rowe danced his way over the line with ten minutes remaining, the young Scots were handed a lifeline. With Arsen Machaladze in the sin-bin for a high tackle, replacement flanker James Miller got the ball down from a close-range line-out drive and replacement stand-off Ross Thompson nailed the conversion, which made it a five-point game. However, as Abzhandadze coolly sent home a penalty to secure the win in the 79th minute, Scotland’s hopes of a dramatic comeback victory were all but dead in the water.
World Rugby U20 Championship 2018 The 12 captains of the World Rugby U20 Championship 2018 L-R: Joaquin de la Vega (Argentina), Caelan Doris (Ireland), Tommy Reffell (Wales), Stafford McDowall (Scotland), Ben Curry (England), Tom Christie (New Zealand), Arthur Coville (France), Salmaan Moerat (South Africa), Ryan Lonergan (Australia), Michele Lamaro (Italy), Beka Saginadze (Georgia), Hisanobu Okayama (Japan).
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SCOTLAND U20 2018 Cammy HUTCHISON, Robbie SMITH, Stafford MCDOWALL, Logan TROTTER, Ross DUNBAR, Finlay RICHARDSON, Ewan JOHNSON, Jamie HODGSON, Guy GRAHAM, Devante ONOJAIFE, Callum MCLELLAND, Kyle ROWE, Sam YAWAYAWA, Paddy DEWHIRST, Murphy WALKER, Rory DARGE, Charlie CHAPMAN, Ross THOMPSON, Martin HUGHES, Marshall SYKES, Fraser STRACHAN, Sam GRAHAMSLAW, Charlie JUPP, Finlay SCOTT, James MILLER, Charlie GOWLING, Finn HOBBIS, Patrick ANDERSON, Coach: Bryan REDPATH gpfoto my photos, your story gerry@gpfoto.ie +353 (087) 2424123 © All rights reserved