Under 20 Six Nations

[Jbobo]

Was so close. Ireland much better this second half.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Wales were much the better side. It was an awesome scrummaging performance from them. Terrific try too. Ireland appeared to have ***s for hands.

 

[Rich Taff]

Don't know how that was so close.
Man of the match by a country mile was the Wales 7. (Because we need more of them.......)

 

[ruggabee]

I'd feel bad if we drew that game. Wales dominated the match and I'm surprised we were a converted try from a draw. I was baffled by some of the knock ons and penalties we gave away. Just not good enough.

 

[dullonien]

Olly Griffiths has looked superb at 7 this campaign. His running lines are great, making his carrying game very impressive. He's strong over the ball and tenacious in defence. He's got a burst of speed, and some good skills too. One for the future, could see him push for first choice at the Dragons next season.

Gees we're developing some serious depth at 7, with the likes of James Davies, Sam Lewis, Josh Navidi etc. going well behind Warbs and Tips.

On the game. Surprised the result was so close in the end, thought Wales dominated every facet of play for the first 50min. Let the quality slip though, with some silly mistakes, poor discipline, and a few dodgy decisions from the ref letting Ireland back into it. Ireland didn't offer much it has to be said.

Regarding the ref, somewhat spoilt the game for both sides. Way too whistle happy, which meant there was no flow to the game. Ref's can often call an indiscretion at every ruck, the good ones have a little empathy, and allow some to go, so that some phases can be put together.

 

[Jbobo]

Everything Dull just said.

 

[Rich Taff]

I don't think the ref was helped at all by the touch judges. The 'playing the ball on floor' but completely missed by the touch judge, that allowed Ireland out of the pressure towards the end was pretty farcical.

Oh, and the sin binning of the poor Irish prop when the entire scrum was demolished was extremely harsh.

 

[dullonien]

Oh, and the sin binning of the poor Irish prop when the entire scrum was demolished was extremely harsh.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of this either. If a prop consistently looses his bind, or refuses to go backwards, instead going down, or up, at every scrum, then I think a yellow card is justified. But when a scrum is retreating like the Irish one today, I think it's a little unfair to yellow card someone. The only thing they could have done differently was to allow the Welsh to march forwards to the try-line! Then again, the same thinking can be applied to the maul......

 

[profitius]

Not much to be said about this match from an Ireland point of view. They'd want to go away and have a good look at themselves.

The skill from both teams was non existent apart from the brilliant Welsh try.

 

[LiRFCMatt]

England are champions! A sensational second half featuring some stunning tries and amazing footwork from Marchant led to a fantastic victory for England Under 20s.

 

[iINDOMINUSxx]

Scotland under 20 17 - 10 Ireland under 20. Definitely a bright future for Scotland.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Englands U20 performance is staggering, 4 out of the last 5 6N we have won and we have 2 back to back world cups. It will be a disgrace if the England seniors do not get any silverware in the coming years as we clearly have the youth to do it.

 

[Rich Taff]

Englands U20 performance is staggering, 4 out of the last 5 6N we have won and we have 2 back to back world cups. It will be a disgrace if the England seniors do not get any silverware in the coming years as we clearly have the youth to do it.

But do you have any players in that U20 who are better than the current internationals?
For instance, the Wales 7 has been head and shoulders above everyone on the pitch for the last few games, but Warburton and Tipuric are so far ahead of him, he has no chance of breaking into the first team (barring experimentation/injuries).
People need to remember that established internationals have a career spanning more than 1 or 2 years, so the 'cracking youth players' don't neccessarily add to the strength of the international team.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

But do you have any players in that U20 who are better than the current internationals?
For instance, the Wales 7 has been head and shoulders above everyone on the pitch for the last few games, but Warburton and Tipuric are so far ahead of him, he has no chance of breaking into the first team (barring experimentation/injuries).
People need to remember that established internationals have a career spanning more than 1 or 2 years, so the 'cracking youth players' don't neccessarily add to the strength of the international team.

No but it indicates that, over time, the youth players that are being fed in were definitely good enough at U20 age. If in the next few years when these U20's become seniors and are playing the other teams U20's that are now seniors, we should expect them to still perform to a very high standard. To have the youth there and not translate it into a very good senior team is not really acceptable in the modern day of professional sport.

 

[Rich Taff]

No but it indicates that, over time, the youth players that are being fed in were definitely good enough at U20 age. If in the next few years when these U20's become seniors and are playing the other teams U20's that are now seniors, we should expect them to still perform to a very high standard. To have the youth there and not translate it into a very good senior team is not really acceptable in the modern day of professional sport.

Oh, I'm not arguing by the way. I think that (mostly backs) that are good enough, often get fast tracked into the senior side (North etc), whereas the outstanding forwards tend to take a few more years.

It's great having 9 or 10 players who are a 7/10, but they're never going to dislodge the 9/10's just because they're 1 or 2 years younger. (Hope that made sense, I've admittedly had a few shandies tonight)