England U20 Complete Grand Slam

England U20 Men completed the Under 20 Six Nations Grand Slam after a bonus-point 27-17 win over Italy.

Coming into the game off the back of four bonus-point wins in the first four rounds, England ran in four tries at Cardiff Arms Park to secure their first title since 2017.

Some early England pressure resulted in a try in the sixth minute when full back Orlando Bailey used a hitch kick to create half a yard of space and rode two tackles to cross, with fly half Tommy Mathews adding the extras.

Mathews stretched England’s lead a few minutes later with a penalty from 40 metres out, before more pressure on the Italian try line saw a slick handling move reach try-scorer Bailey who delayed his pass to send Jack Bates through a gap to score.

It was England who dominated territory and possession in the first 40 minutes but Italy’s defence was well-marshalled to keep England with just the 17-0 lead at the break.

The first points of the second half came from the boot of Mattia Farrarin’s penalty as Italy got on the scoreboard for the first time, but England’s response came almost immediately from a well-worked backline move off a scrum and wing Arthur Relton dived over in the corner.

RAPID RELTON

This was a super score from Arthur Relton ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/wvPnmAJD8F

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) July 13, 2021

The Azzurri got their first try just a couple of minutes later in a frantic start to the second half as Ion Neculai powered over from close range, and Farrarin slotted the simple conversion. England Rugby