Scotland Under-18s made it two from two at the Under-18s Six Nations Festival on Wednesday while Wales and Italy also enjoyed successful days.
A bumper crowd at Cardiff Arms Park saw Scotland earn a 24-21 victory over France with Italy beating England 32-30 – Wales triumphed 36-28 against Ireland.
BLAIN GAME
Jack Blain added to his two tries at the weekend with a further score as Scotland backed up their opening day win over England with victory against France.
Full-back Rufus McLean and outside centre Matthew Currie were also on the scoresheet for the Scots with fly-half Dan Lancaster kicking nine points.
Nathaniel Hulleu got two tries in reply for France with Jordan Joseph – who scored against Wales at the weekend – also going over.
Scotland Under-18s head coach Iain Monaghan said: “It was very windy, difficult conditions today and the boys tactically played that really well in the first half into the wind.
“In the second half a lot more pressure came on them and they didn’t lose sight of the objective and gameplan, they defended well towards the end to secure the win.
“We made 11 changes today and the focus over the two games and the warm-ups was to play most of the players, so it now makes selection very difficult for Sunday’s game against Ireland.”
ITALIAN JOB
Italy bounced back from defeat to Ireland with a stunning performance against England – who suffered their second loss on the bounce at the festival.
Italy led 14-3 at the break, with three penalties from Paolo Garbisi and a try for Matteo Drudi, while George Barton kicked England’s only points.
And despite second half scores for Ollie Sleightholme and a pair for Alfie Barbeary, as well as a penalty try, Italy were able to see out the match with two more tries.
Captain Matteo Moscardi and Albert Batista helped seal the 32-30 victory for Italy and head coach Mattia Dolcetto is confident the future is bright for his team.
“England were big and physical but we had Italian pride to stand up to them,” he said.
“Against Ireland we missed the chance to score when we had chances but today we asked them to be clinical today and they did exactly that.
“Looking at this young team we can say the hope is strong for a bright future for Italian rugby. That is what we are working towards.”
HOME COMFORTS
Finally, Wales saw off Ireland with a 36-28 triumph in the second game of the day in Cardiff with Chris Horsman’s side running in six tries in an entertaining clash.
Louis Rees-Zammit and Cameron Lewis both crossed for braces to add to tries from captain Jac Morgan and man-of-the-match Teddy Williams.
Angus Adair, Alex Kendellen, Nathan Doak and John McKee went over in vain for Ireland but it wasn’t enough to prevent a defeat.
“They’ve come a huge way as a group since that first game together up at Scotland,” said Wales head coach Horsman.
“This camp was about creating an environment where the players are self-driven and coming up with solutions and they’re really starting to do that now.
“Italy will be a great challenge for our boys, I want them to enjoy this win and spend some good time with their families, soak in the experience and then move forward to Italy.”
