The first game was a tough one against France U16 B (picture of Max in action below), at 27-12 ahead with 15 minutes to go they looked to be strolling to a comfortable win. But France kicked into action and vindicated every stereotype and cliche about French rugby and unpredictability by staging a stunning comeback through some scintillating handling and offloading. Suddenly, with only a couple of minutes to go, England were facing a shot a goal from France to win the game. It was missed, and the relief was clear to see on the faces of the England players who have hopefully made their first and last mistake of dropping off against the French. The next came an 18-8 victory against Netherlands U17, followed by an emphatic 46-12 win over Belgium U17.
England B (North) head coach Peter Coke said: “The boys knew that they’d be up against it. You can call the Belgium’s and the Holland’s your weaker sides, but they gave us a lot of problems!You look at this side, and it shows how much depth you have coming through the schools. Players develop at different stages, and you can definitely see a few of these boys moving onwards and upwards. The festival dinner night was fantastic, and shows what rugby is all about."
