While there was every cause to celebrate a win over the junior All Blacks in Rosario last weekend, doing the double over the English this year would perhaps be an even bigger achievement. The White Rose wilted in Colwyn Bay in the U20 Six Nations, when Deon Smith’s last gasp try earned and 11-10 victory.
Now Dewi Lake’s battlers have to repeat that success if they are to record their highest finish at the World U20 Championships since they reached the final in France six years ago. On that occasion it was a Ross Moriarty inspired England that came out on top 23-15.
“We felt we didn’t manage the game as well as we could have done and put ourselves under pressure against New Zealand. There are some great lessons we can take from that and it is always nice to learn on the back of what was only our second victory over New Zealand at this level,” said Williams.
“We are proud of that and the players can feel really pleased about coming away with the win. It was definitely an example of winning ugly and making the most of what we had.
“There were some great examples of last ditch defence and there was real character shown by the players. We stayed in the game and there were also some moments of quality.
“Cai Evans kicking that goal in the end was huge for us. He missed a couple of difficult kicks, but he nailed the important one and now we can move on to a very important game for the fifth or sixth place.”
They don’t come much bigger than playing England in any competition and at this age group the opposition this weekend have a massive advantage. Of the 16 games played between the two countries at Under 20 level since 2007, England have won 13 and drawn another.
They have won all three meetings at the World U20 Championships – 23-15 in the 2013 final, 30-16 in Italy in 2015 and 34-22 in Georgia in 2017 – and, like Wales, have lost only once to date in Argentina. That came in their opening game against the 2019 U20 Six Nations Grand Slammers, Ireland.
Having lost 42-26 to the Irish in their opening pool match, England then turned the tables on them in their second tier semi-final to book their ticket to face Wales with a 24-17 victory. Now they will have revenge in their minds as they attempt to avoid what would be only a fourth defeat to Wales at this level.
