Seven takeaways from England's uninspiring start to the World Rugby U20 Championship

England got their preparations for the World Rugby U20 Championship off to an uninspiring start at Sixways on Friday night, losing 26-12 to the Junior Springboks.

South Africa, who were playing the third game of their UK tour, looked clinical and powerful, whilst England showed plenty of rust and were it not for some excellent defensive work, could well have faced a much more one-sided score-line.

We have assessed the positives and negatives from a tough night for the England U20s and there is certainly a lot to be done between now and the beginning of the championship if England are to make it their sixth-straight final in France next month.

Continue reading below…

Positives

Fringe defence – England were hurt around the fringes during the U20 Six Nations, with their defensive organisation and communication seemingly not at a standard they would have been happy with. Against South Africa, even with the Junior Springboks’ powerful one-out carriers, England were much better prepared. The physical presences of Ted Hill and Joel Kpoku prevented South Africa from having much joy in the tighter confines.

Back three – The trio of Tom Parton, Ben Loader and Tom Seabrook went well in what was quite a tight game that lacked for moments of open play. Even without the tempo of ball or broken field to excel, the three players were reliable, defensively responsible and did offer threat, despite England being on the back-foot for much of the game.

Openside depth – With Tom Curry, Ben Curry and Ben Earl all not involved and at least two of those three not due to be available at the championship, there was a concern England could be found wanting on the flanks. Gloucester’s Aaron Hinkley had some impressive moments in a pack that was under the thumb of their South African counterparts.

Negatives

Lineout – This was an area England struggled in last year and during the Six Nations and little seems to have changed since then. The home side were unable to string together successful lineouts at Sixways and without that platform, they were unable to consistently spring their talented back line and dangerous loose forwards. It may be worth having a look at U18 hookers Will Capon and Kapeli Pifeleti ahead of the championships at the end of the month.

Driving maul – Offensively, England did manage to get one effective drive going in the second half that resulted in a Henry Walker try, but their inability to provide accurate lineout ball stymied any hopes they had of making it a major weapon. The more pressing issue, however, would be England’s shortcomings defending the driving maul, where South Africa had complete success. At no point did England seem to commit to trying to steal the lineout or preparing to repel the drive with all available forwards and being stuck in two minds did nothing to help deny one of the best mauling sides at this level of rugby.

Handling – Aside from a good bit of play between Parton and Loader that led to England’s try, the handling, attacking fluency and composure of the home side all seemed to be lacking. A lot of that can be put down to rust, but it will be a concern how ineffective the group looked with the chances that did come their way. A second playmaker, such as Luke James, could be the way forward for the group, with centres Ollie Lawrence and Fraser Dingwall both probably more comfortable at outside centre.

Ball-carriers – England struggled to consistently break the gain-line all night, apart from a handful of carries from Hill, Kpoku and Tom Willis. If Ben Curry is made available that could help next month, but powerful back-rower Sam Moore is sidelined with an ankle injury and won’t be back till preseason. If the gain-line can be broken, everything else becomes easier, but without it, England’s back line could continue to struggle to deliver the clinical and incisive play that they have thrived with over the last few years.