Scotland gave proof that age-grade rugby north of the Border is on an upward curve by scoring four tries against an all-conquering England side in the final round of the Under-18 International Series hosted by Wales.
Ultimately, however, the strength of the English bench in the final quarter was a telling factor. “We were level with England with about 16 minutes of the match remaining. They got a penalty on our line and ran the length of the field for a try and that rather took the wind out of our sails,” said Ally Donaldson, the Scotland Under-18 head coach.
“They had a very strong bench and these guys running against tired bodies made a difference. But I’m very proud of how the boys played.
"This was by far our best performance in two years. The scoreline today simply did not reflect how we played.
“Overall this has been a positive season and the boys have learned a lot. But domestically we need to address the competitive season post Christmas to allow these players to play a higher standard of rugby before going into the international season” added Donaldson.
The young Scots twice held the lead in the first-half and five minutes into the second period they were level at 19-19 with England having scored tries by centre Ross McMichael, stand-off Ross Thompson and winger Jack Blain and two conversions by Thompson.
But England’s power in their front row then produced two close range tries while another English touchdown came from Cameron Redpath, the son of the former Scotland scrum half and captain, Bryan Redpath, who switched allegiance this season after representing Scotland last year.
“We understand why Cameron made the switch but we hope that he will think about coming back to the Scotland fold for the Under-20s Donaldson said of Redpath, one of six Scotland qualified players in the England squad.
England then scored a seventh try but just before full time replacement scrum half Roan Frostwick crossed for the Scots’ fourth score to reward his side for being competitive to the end.
Scotland Under-18s: J McCaig; J Blain, R McMichael, G Hughes J Lineen; R Thompson, G Warr; A Nimmo, F Scott, E McLaren, M Sykes, O Cattell, D Davison, C Boyle, R Darge Subs C Renwick, M Walker, D York, J McLean, J Hutchinson, R Frostwick, M Davidson, J Searle
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