July 20th, 2008
England Women U20s 30 Canada 7
England Women Under 20s were crowned champions of the inaugural Nations Cup in Toronto, Canada on Saturday night after defeating the host nation 30-7 in the final at Appleby College.
It was England’s second win over the North American side after also adding a 31-5 victory in the tournament’s curtain raiser game. England then went on to record victories over Canada A and Wales to secure their place in the final, while Canada also did the same.
England’s young guns now end their season with a clean sweep of wins after also recording back-to-back victories over Wales earlier this season.
England Under 20s Head Coach Giselle Mather said: “We are enormously proud of the journey this squad has been on. They have become very dedicated and committed athletes who have worked very hard to achieve their goal of winning the Under 20s Nations Cup.
“To play four very hard games in nine days and to produce performances in the heat and driving rain that we are very proud of is a remarkable achievement. The standard of rugby played throughout this tournament by all sides has raised the bar at this level, and to have come out as winners has been a real testament to the girls’ hard work. “
In thunder storms and driving rain, the under 20s produced a mature and intelligent performance to take the victory in the final. England’s territorial kicking was outstanding, which was backed up by an intense defensive performance which kept Canada on the back-foot and forced several handling errors in the wet conditions, which England were able to capitalise on.
The first try was created through driving platforms and close quarter play and was taken well after a pushover from the line-out just five metres out with Wasps’ Davina Monteiro claiming the score. Lichfield’s Emily Scarratt missed the conversion.
With 25 minutes gone on the clock, England took a 12-0 lead. The score came after relentless defence pressure and Doncaster fly-half Clare Garner took a nice chip to chase the ball up-field and score. This time Scarratt converted.
England then claimed their third try in the first-half when a well-worked line-out saw the ball passed out wide and down the line with Bath winger Natasha Hunt diving over the line. Scarratt again converted, but England were disappointed to let Canada in just before the break with a try caused by their own errors.
After the restart, two consecutive penalties converted by Scarratt, saw England head into a comfortable 25-7 lead before Scarratt sealed England’s Cup Final win with a 57th minute try caused from a turn-over ball from Canada’s line-out.
England Under 20s Canada U20s
1 Laura Keates © (Worcester), 2 Davinia Monteiro (Wasps), 3 Victoria Cornborough (Richmond), 4 Rowena Burnfield (Richmond), 5 Juliet Short (Darlington Mowden Park), 6 Isabelle Noel-Smith (Bath), 7 Marlie Packer (Bath), 8 Nicola Hoole (Bath), 9 Sarah Guest (Worcester), 10 Claire Garner (Doncaster), 11 Samantha Bree (Worcester), 12 Sara McKenna (Old Albanian Saints), 13 Rose Fong (Darlington Mowden Park), 14 Natasha Hunt (Bath), 15 Emily Scarratt (Lichfield). Replacements: 16 Charlotte Male (Ivel Barbarians), 17 Victoria Fleetwood (Lichfield), 18 Hannah Field (Reading), 19 Brigid Reeves (Leeds Leos), 20 Rachel Fraser (Morpeth), 21 April Brown (Saracens), 22 Georgina Crabb (Camberley)
Tries: Monteiro, Garner, Hunt, Scarratt
Conversions: Scarratt (2)
Penalties: Scarratt (2)
Substitutions: Crabb for Bree (20), Fleetwood for Monteiro (20), Fraser for Guest, Male for Short (31), Brown for Garner, Reeves for Noel-Smith, Field for Packer (35).
Under 20s Nations Cup Schedule:
All games to be played at Appleby College in Toronto
Friday July 11th
Wales v Canada A, KO 530pm
England v Canada KO 710pm (1210am BST) WON 31-5
Monday July 14th
England v Canada A KO 530pm (1030pm BST) WON 22-5
Canada v Wales KO 710 pm
Wednesday July 16th:
England v Wales KO 7pm (12am BST) WON 14-3
Saturday July 19th:
Championship Final KO 5pm (10pm BST)
England v Canada WON 30-7
Ends…
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