Scotland Under-20 12-17 Argentina Under-20

Scotland under-20 will compete in the third-tier rankings in the IRB Junior World Championship this coming Sunday (17 June, kick-off 11.30am UK time). They will take on Italy in the ninth place semi-final after concluding their Pool C matches with a 17-12 defeat to Argentina. The team managed two second-half tries from prop Jamie Bhatti and number 8 Mitch Eadie, but were unable to put points on the board despite having the majority of possession and threat in the last half-an-hour of the clash.   Head coach Peter Wright said: “We made far too many errors today and let Argentina get in our faces. In the first-half we never had the ball for more than two phases. It’s so frustrating because we then played so well in the second-half and were the better team. “We kicked for territory better in the second period and we were more composed, and as the half went on our belief grew. Giving away the try early on after the break ultimately lost us the game. “You could see today when we did retain the ball for four or five phases the threat we posed got greater. I have challenged the boys to gain more possession and be patient through the phases in our next match. If we do that we will be threatening.” The Scots were never really in the match in the first-half with only one attempt at the posts, which was missed by stand-off Tommy Allan. Argentina took their chances with scrum-half, Felipe Excurra, scoring two tries, one of which was converted by stand-off, Joaquin Paz. Half-time: Scotland under-20 0-12 Argentina under-20 After an early try in the second-half from Argentina’s flanker, Leandro Ramella, the young Scots up their intensity and stopped their opponents scoring for the remainder of the match, a feature which they have recreated in almost every game this season. 15 minutes into the half Scotland’s forwards drove a maul to the line and as they approached all that was left to do was for Bhatti to break-off and touch down. Leonard missed the conversion. The Scots continued their onslaught at the Argentine line for the remainder of the match, but a number of errors thwarted their attempts to take the lead. However, one more consolation try wasn’t too much to ask and with the whistle blown Eadie dived for the line and scored their second and final try. Full-time: Scotland under-20 12-17 Argentina under-20 Scotland under-20 team: Sam Hidalgo-Clyne; Jamie Farndale, Keith Buchan, Finn Russell, Tom Steven; Tommy Allan, Matt Torrance; Jamie Bhatti, Fergus Scott (captain), Gavin Robertson, Stuart Smith, Andrew Redmayne, Gary Graham, Henderson, Mitch Eadie. Replacements: George Turner (for Scott, 53mins), Alex Allan (for Robertson, 53mins), Robin Hislop (for Swanson, 78mins), Jamie Swanson (for Smith, 50mins), Callum Reid (for Henderson, 31mins), Murray McConnell (for Torrance, 42mins), Harry Leonard (for Buchan, 47mins), Robbie Fergusson (for Steven, 67mins). Argentina under-20 team: Gonzalo Ruiz; Ramiro Finco, Juan Cappiello (captain), Juan Ignacio Brex, German Klubus; Joaquin Paz, Felipe Ezcurra; Santiago Garcia Botta, Santiago Iglesias, Matias Diaz, Ladislao Uriburu, Juan Cruz Guillemaín, Joaquin Camacho, Leandro Ramella, Facundo Isa.Replacements: Matias Sambran, German Lefort, Mariano Sanchez, Lautaro Casado, Rodolfo Ambrosio, Sebastián Poet, Felipe Nougues, Pablo Matera.