England U18 went down 27-5 to France at the Stade Jean Rolland in Digne-les-Bains on Saturday, their opening fixture of the season.

England were behind from early on when France scrum half Baptiste Germain went over in the opening ten minutes, converting his try for a 7-0 lead.

England hit back, Henley College wing Will Smmonds crossing in the corner for an excellent try, leaving his side two points behind at 7-5 after Kirkham Grammar School’s Kieran Wilkinson had agonizingly hit the post with the conversion.

Malcom Bertschy soon scored a second French try, with Germain slotting the conversion and then adding a drop goal on top to give his team a 17-5 lead as the half closed.

It was a lead that France held until the final ten minutes, when England’s Sedbergh second row Rouban Birch went to the bin for a high tackle. France pounced on the opportunity, scoring a further two tries through Florent Vanverberghe and Nathanael Hulleu to seal a flattering 27-5 victory.

Speaking to www.englandrugby.com after the game, England U18 Head Coach John Fletcher said:

“I think the effort was strong. We found it difficult in the conditions to get people carrying pace with the ball. We had lots of the ball but sometimes in those sorts of conditions it is easier to defend and force the opposition into a mistake. Overall, we are disappointed with the result but we will get better.”

“The biggest thing the players would have learned is to adapt to the conditions. The effort was there, but our skills broke down with the pressure they put us under.”

With fixtures against Scotland and Wales later this month, before three fixtures in the U18 Six Nations, there is plenty of time opportunity for this young England group to work on those skills under pressure, with Scotland up first on the 18^th March.

Full Time: France U18 27-5 England U18

England U18 XV:

15 Tom de Glanville (Bath & Beechen Cliff)

14 Will Simonds (Wasps & The Henley College)

13 Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors & Bromsgrove)

12 Sam Spink (Wasps & Wellington College)

11 Jacob Morris (Gloucester & Hartpury College)

10 Kieran Wilkinson (Sale Sharks & Kirkham Grammar)

9 Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs & Blundell’s)

1 Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks & Sedbergh)

2 Will Capon (Bristol & Bristol Grammar)

3 Alfie Petch (Exeter Chiefs & Exeter College)

4 Tom Jeanes (Bath & Beechen Cliff)

5 Cameron Jordan (Leicester Tigers & Oakham)

6 Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs & Exeter College)

7 Sam Dugdale (Sale Sharks & Kirkham Grammar)

8 Tom Marshall (Newcastle Falcons & Gosforth Academy)

Replacements:

16 Kapeli Pifeleti (Saracens & Haileybury)

17 Olly Adkins (Gloucester & Hartpury College)

18 Cal Ford (Sale Sharks & Sandbach)

19 Rouban Birch (Sale Sharks & Sedbergh)

20 JJ Tonks (Gloucester & Hartpury College)

21 Blake Boyland (Bristol & SGS Filton College)

22 Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons & Sedbergh)

23 Harry Barlow (Harlequins & Cranleigh)

England U18 Fixtures:

England U18 v Scotland – 18^th March, Stirling County RFC, 12pm KO

England U18 v Wales – 25^th March, Pontypridd RFC, 4.15pm KO

England U18 v Scotland – 31^st March, Ystrad Mynach, 12pm KO

England U18 v Italy – 4^th April, Cardiff Arms Park, 12pm KO

England U18 v France – 8^th April, Cardiff Arms Park, 5pm KO