ENGLAND U20 67 WALES U20 7
The Red Rose nation which boasted Newcastle Falcons talents Scott Wilson and Zach Kibirige, dismantled their Welsh counterparts in brutal fashion right from the off.
Billy Burns, brother of Gloucester and England star Freddie, opened the scoring with a penalty inside the first minute. Burns’ three points set the platform for what can only be described as a massacre from Nick Walshe’s men.
First, Loughborough Students scrum-half Henry Taylor darted in under the posts after the impressive figure of Joel Conlon charged through the middle to set-up prop Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi who in turn fed Taylor for the score. Burns added the extras from bang in front to make it 10-0.
Harry Thacker made it try number two for the hosts, Conlon again the architect with a marauding carry to put Wales on the back-foot. From the breakdown Thacker crashed over from close-range with Burns kicking the two points to extend the gap to 17-0 in favour of England.
By this point Newcastle academy product Wilson was exerting his dominance in the front-row to underline why he recently earned a call-up to the England Saxons. And it was Wilson, who was carrying the ball well, who played a key role in producing try number three just short of the half hour mark. Gus Jones of London Wasps added the final touches to a dominant rolling maul to burrow his way over. The men in white were clearly showing no mercy upfront, and Burns nailed the conversion for a 24-0 lead.
Running riot in the North East, it got even better for the hosts when Thacker dotted down for his second try of the contest. Swift handling in the England backline put the Tigers hooker in at the corner and Burns’ exquisite touchline conversion pushed the men in white over the 30 point mark. On the stroke of half-time Jones went over to put England 38-0 up at the interval to the delight of the majority of the Kingston Park crowd.
Wales to their credit came out for the second period keen to assert some pressure on England’s rear-guard. However, any hopes of getting back into the match were dashed when Newcastle’s Kibirige scored a contender for try of the season at Kingston Park. Shrugging off several Welsh defenders with his sheer pace, tenacity and desire, the Middlesbrough-born hotshot sprinted three-quarters-of-the-length of the field to touchdown in emphatic style. With Falcons director of rugby Dean Richards watching from the stands, Kibirige’s score is sure to have impressed the experienced boss as he looks to force his way into the first team reckoning.
45-0 up, Wasps flanker Jones got his hat-trick with an easy walk-in to the line after England switched the ball from side to side at pace. And the rout continued with an hour played when Jones rounded off his man-of-the-match display with his fourth touchdown of the night. Alex Lundberg and skipper Maro Itoje powered their way to the line to enhance the scoreline to 67-0, before Wales claimed a consolation score in the shape of a penalty try with three minutes remaining. England full-back Howard Packman was adjudged to have hauled down a Welsh attacker without the ball with Packman yellow-carded in the process. Wales No.10 Angus O’Brien converted from out wide but it paled into insignificance as England sealed a stylish 67-7 victory.
**England:** 15 Howard Packman, 14 Zach Kibirige, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Henry Taylor, 1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi, 2 Harry Thacker, 3 Scott Wilson, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Tom Ellis, 6 Ross Moriarty, 7 Gus Jones, 8 Joel Conlon
**Replacements:** 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Alex Lundberg, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Hayden Stringer, 21 Stuart Townsend, 22 Sam Olver, 23 Aaron Morris
**Wales:** 15 Afon Bagshaw, 14 Tyler Morgan, 13 Steffan Hughes (c), 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Ashley Evans, 10 Angus O’Brien, 9 Tom Williams, 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Ethan Lewis, 3 Nicky Thomas, 4 Scott Andrews, 5 Joe Davies, 6 Ben Roach, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 8 James Benjamin
**Replacements:** 16 Elliott Dee, 17 Luke Garrett, 18 Benjamin Leung, 19 Rob Dudley-Jones, 20 Will Boyde, 21 Luc Jones, 22 Luke Price, 23 Joshua Adams