Match Report | Scotland U20 40-13 USA U20
20 Jul 2023Scotland U20 secured their second victory of the World Rugby U20 Trophy when they faced USA U20, leaving the field with a 40-13 win.
A break from a maul in the USA’s 22 allowed the Young Scots to open the scoring for the match. A quick pass from Ben Afshar to Finn Douglas on the wing let him sprint past the USA defence and touch down over the white wash. Afshar got the extras.
Shortly after, the USA centre slipped past Scotland defence and passed to his wing who dived over the line. A successful conversion brought the score level.
Scotland conceded a penalty for not rolling, allowing the USA to successfully take a kick at the posts on the 27th minute mark.
After some relentless attacking from the forwards and an exceptional chip kick over from Andrew McLean, Logan Jarvie squeezed the ball into the corner on the 30th minute. However, Liam McConnell was judged to have cleaned out illegally at a ruck in the build up, and after initially awarding the try the referee awarded USA the penalty instead.
Some excellent carries from Jake Parkinson, Andy McLean and Ben Salmon brought Scotland back up the field and close to another try. However, some juggling when passed out to Logan Jarvie lead to a knock on and it was back in USA hands.
Finally, just before half time, some excellent ball recycling let Findlay Thomson roll over the line, earning the Scots their second try. Ben Afshar’s accurate boot brought the team up to one point ahead on the whistle.
Half Time: Scotland U20 14-13 USA U20
Scotland profited off a penalty by kicking to the corner. After a successful line out and a heavy driving maul from the forwards, Ben Afshar got his hands on the ball and slipped over the line. Afshar converted his own try, bringing Scotland up another seven points.
After another successful line out and driving maul, Ben Afshar picked up the ball once again on the 53rd minute, this time performing a nifty side step and sneaking past the defence to dot down over the white wash. He converted his own try once again.
The next Scottish try came shortly after when Andrew McLean was passed the ball by Ben Afshar and sprinted past the USA defence like they weren’t even there, bringing the team up another five points.
On the 66th minute, a unstoppable maul with Corey Tait at the helm got the hooker over the line for his first try of the match and his teams sixth of the afternoon. Ben Afshar completed his shift by converting.
The last ten minutes of play saw a lot of to-and-fro, but Scotland’s controlled defence secured their second win of the tournament.
Full Time: Scotland U20 40-13 USA U20
Scotland
Tries: Finn Douglas, Findlay Thomson, Ben Afshar (2), Andrew McLean, Corey Tait
Conversions: Ben Afshar (5)
15. Dan King 14. Logan Jarvie 13. Ben Salmon 12. Findlay Thomson 11. Finn Douglas 10. Andrew McLean 9. Ben Afshar (CC) 1. Robbie Deans 2. Corey Tait 3. Callum Norrie 4. Eddie Erskine 5. Jake Parkinson 6. Liam McConnell (CC) 7. Jonny Smith 8. Jonny Morris
Replacements: 16. Finn Duraj 17. Craig Davidson 18. Oliver Minnis 19. Ruaraidh Hart 20. Sam Derrick 21. Hector Patterson 22. Kerr Yule 23. Matt Reid
Cover Image: World Rugby
