England Under-20s captain Alex Gray has urged his side not to be overawed by New Zealand ahead of their Junior World Championship final in Italy.
The reigning RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam champions weathered an early French storm before downing their Gallic counterparts 33-18 in the semi-final.
And they now face the Baby Blacks who comfortably saw off Australia 37-7 to continue their incredible 100 percent record since the competition began in 2008.
But No. 8 Gray insists England have what it takes to beat New Zealand and win their first Under-20 title having twice fallen at the final hurdle.
“We can’t wait for the final now – New Zealand have an aura about them but they definitely aren’t unbeatable,” said Gray, who scored an interception fourth try in the semi-final.
“They sweat, they bleed – they’re human, so if we go out there with the right game plan then I’m confident we can give them a run for their money.
“A final is a one off game, it’s all or nothing rugby and we’ve got a chance.
“It will be my last game as an Under 20 player and I expect it will be pretty emotional.
“It’s been a long run, and a few of us have played together since we were with the Under 16s so it just gives us an added incentive to pull out all the stops when we play the Baby Blacks.
“To be involved in any final is a massive honour, the boys have worked so hard to get to where we are.
“We started out as a group back in September with the ultimate aim of winning both the 6 Nations and the Junior World Championships.
“We won the 6 Nations back in March and now we’ve got a chance of winning the JWC.”
