England have secured a place in the semi-finals of the World Rugby Under-20s Championship despite losing their final group match to France, qualifying as the highest performing second-placed team. They will face South Africa in the last four on Monday.
The young England side were up against it from the early stages against France in Viadana in northern Italy on Wednesday evening, going 17-3 down in the opening 25 minutes. A try from Harlequins’ James Chisholm just before half-time and a penalty try midway through the second half kept Jon Callard’s side in the match but France always managed to maintain their advantage, with the centre Damien Penaud scoring two tries.
England did manage to close the gap at 24-18 after the replacement Lloyd Evans, having converted a penalty try, kicked another three points, but Thomas Romas’s penalty and a drop goal from Lucas Meret made the match safe for France.
After the game England faced a wait for the results of later games in opposing pools, which eventually confirmed them as the best performing team in a runners-up position. England join the three pool winners France, New Zealand and South Africa in the next round.
Callard rued the mistakes made by his side but said they would learn from the experience. “I was proud of how the lads stuck at it in a very physical and dogmatic game, but unfortunately we made mistakes in a way that we haven’t so far this tournament,” said the head coach.
“The players were disappointed with their performance, and not to top the pool, but they will learn from this experience and will be stronger for it both in terms of this competition and their international careers.”
