Capstick wins it at the death for U20s
By Mark Stevens
1/2/20
Exeter Chiefs flanker Richard Capstick left it late as his last-gasp try helped England Under-20s get their Six Nations campaign off to a winning start with a 29-24 bonus-point win over France in Grenoble.
Capstick finished off a remarkable move which saw them send the ball superbly the length of the field, turning defence into attack to seal all five points at the Stade des Alpes.
It was a thrilling end to a contest after England threw away a 24-12 lead when France fought back with two tries to set-up a nail-biting finale.
Earlier, Capstick’s Exeter team-mate Rus Tuima had helped England to lead 10-9 at the break, his try converted by Josh Hodge, who also kicked an early penalty.
At the other end, three penalties from Joris Moura kept the hosts in contention, before England - skippered on the night by Exeter Chiefs scrum-half, Sam Maunder - stretched their lead with second half scores from Hodge and Tom Roebuck.
France, however, would not lie down and they drew themselves level with tries from Jordan Joseph and Ethan Dumortier.
With just a minute remaining though, it was Capstick who bundled over after England went through several phases to seal a memorable victory.
Post-match, England head coach Alan Dickens, whose side will next take on Scotland in Myreside, Edinburgh on Friday, said: “We kept on fighting and got the win and that just shows how tight this group are. We knew we would get one more chance and they showed great composure to score it. Whether we had won, lost or drawn the same amount of effort would have gone into it, so to score late on is the icing on the cake.
“To come away to France and score four tries and play outstandingly well is an amazing achievement. I’m pleased but we need to look forward and we have a tough challenge against Scotland next. We’ll need to recover, prepare and put in another strong performance.
“I’m proud of the group, but this is testament to the wider network around them, their parents and coaches and the great work that is being done in the academies to develop these players.
“This is such a new group, we had nine debutants on the field so to come to France and defeat the double world U20 champions and defeat them in front of a hostile crowd is a brilliant achievement and will hopefully play a crucial part in their development as future senior internationals.”
