England beat France with a ruthless, dominating scrum and a powerhouse performance that had even coach Steve Borthwick salivating to claim their first U-20 World Title since 2016. Try-scoring tries from forwards Joe Bailey and Arthur Green sealed the victory in Cape Town as England’s forward strength overpowered the defending champions.
England were unstoppable at the scrum, winning penalties at will less than a week after Borthwick lamented his senior team’s set-piece problems. Props Asher Opoku-Ford-Juur and Afolabi Fasogbon may soon be promoted for their dominance in a pack lacking first-choice tighthead Billy Sera. Other players who improved their reputations included second-rower Junior Kpok and flanker Henry Pollock, whose performances bode well for Borthwick as he sets his course towards the 2027 World Cup.
The key will be whether these young players receive game time from their clubs, as has been the case with recent France graduates, but in the meantime Mark Mapletoft can take satisfaction in having led England to a fourth World Under-20 title. England were far from perfect in the final, but the strength of these forwards always felt like it could be decisive.
France may have been under-strength – some of their players are touring Argentina with an inexperienced senior squad instead – but they were soundly defeated, as they were in the Six Nations when England won at Pau to claim this year’s title. “This group is super special. I really consider these guys brothers for life. To win two trophies together is just unbelievable,” said captain and Leicester flanker Finn Carnduff.
The strength of England’s vaunted scrum was already evident within the opening three minutes, and Mapletoft’s men flexed their muscles to win a penalty, but it was still an error-filled opening for the Six Nations champions, who were unable to take advantage of their chances with the ball dropping too low to the ground, especially as France looked dangerous on the counter.
France took the lead with a close-range penalty from the accomplished fly-half and captain Hugo Reus and Matthijs Ferté thought he had scored a brilliant try down the left wing only to be denied by a knock-on in front of goal, but without Pollock’s charge up the middle England would have had to rely on the strength of their set-pieces, while France were determined to play and took advantage of their chances with their prowess at the breakdown.
England had two scrums and two penalties, but Sean Carr struck the post with his second attempt and then scored another excellent try a few minutes later. France’s efforts paid off, their discipline began to erode, and England’s forwards found it much easier to get over the gain line, with Bailey scoring the opening try from close range after a powerful maul. But Reus’ second penalty just before half-time meant France were just one point behind at the break.
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The second half started in a similar fashion. England were awarded another scrum penalty, but it was knocked on in a good position and France suffered a blow when impressive number eight Matisse Castro-Ferreira was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Pollock. Kerr soon extended England’s lead with a penalty and when a scrum was awarded close to the France line, a try for substitute Green looked inevitable. Kerr missed the conversion but added two more penalties, the second also from a scrum, to give them the boost they needed. Ferté’s fine final try was a reward for his individual performance but it was only a consolation for France.