You can view the team of the week for round one here
That was another thrilling and informative weekend day of Six Nations U20 rugby last Friday, giving another chance for us to see the next generation.
We saw some players shed their nerves of the opening week to put in good performances, we saw less heralded names come in and take their chances, and we saw some players build off the back of an impressive opening weekend.
England U20s look a class apart at this level, sprinting to the top of the table with convincing wins over two of their biggest contenders. Ireland haven’t played their best, but look to be beginning to figure things out out wide. Somehow they’ve managed to win two games by a point. Scotland were unlucky, twice, playing two great games – before being blown out of the water by a resurgent French team.
Wales gave England a good showing, in a much improved performance, whilst Italy showed they were no mugs, even though they reside at the bottom of the table with Scotland.
Here are the best XV from the week, with five players returning from last week, and four graduating from mentions to starters this week. Just like last time, England dominate selections with seven players.
15. Darcy Graham (Scotland)
So we cheated right off the bat. Graham, who made the team at fullback last week, played on the wing against France.
Now, a combination of fantastic wing play all round – more so than the talents at full-back, has lead us to shoehorn Graham into the team.
And he deserves it.
14. Jordan Larmour (Ireland)
There were two standout performances this week, and Jordan Larmour was the second of them.
In defense, Larmour was a rock. As well as some strong tackling, any threatening Italian attack was snuffed out coming down his wing. That’s not to mention his two try saving tackles.
In the air, Larmour chased everything, creating turnovers.
But it was in attack that we saw his flair. Two brilliantly taken tries, running in from at least 30 metres, featuring quick stepping and a burst to get clear.
Jordan Larmour is a Joe Schmidt wet dream.
13. Gavin Mullin (Ireland)
I get the sense that if Ireland’s outside centre has a good game, then Ireland have a chance to win.
Mullin’s defense was very good, stopping the onslaught and containing Vaccari very well.
He didn’t get many opportunities in attack until late on, but when he did, his quick feet and burst got Ireland momentum and lead directly to two tries.
When Mullin had the ball in his hands, Ireland looked dangerous. Now they need to feed their outside backs more.
12. Will Butler (England)
The Worcester centre turned in his second impressive outing in as many weeks and showed his intuitive understanding of the game with a varied performance.
Whether he was straightening the line or putting speed and width on the ball for those outside of him to excel, Butler barely put a foot wrong against Wales.
He grabbed himself a try in Colwyn Bay and did an excellent job of shutting down the Welsh midfield.
11. Ratu Joe Cokanasinga (England)
“Big Joe” as he is rapidly becoming known makes the XV for the second week in a row.
He didn’t see a whole lot of ball on Friday evening but when he did, he made the most of it. One searing break past four Welsh defenders culminated in an audacious offload that led to Max Wright’s try.
His other carries weren’t quite as prolific but he gave England guaranteed metres whenever he got his hands on the ball and that helped the rest of his team succeed.
A mention must go to French winger Fartass who scored one of the better tries of the round:
10. Antonio Rizzi (Italy)
2017 is fast becoming the year of the outhalf at U20s. Max Malins dazzled last weekend, and it was the turn of Italian flyhalf Antonio Rizzi to display his full array of talents in week two.
He was impressive against Wales in the opening game, but against Ireland he took control. Playing on the gainline, he expertly directed play around the pitch -showcasing a breathtaking array of tactical kicking, running ability, and giving his backline plenty of quality ball to do damage with.
9. Harry Randall (England)
The diminutive scrum-half was at his electric best against his fellow countrymen in North Wales and delivered a tempo that the Welsh team just couldn’t live with.
His distribution from the base was exemplary, as was his control of the game, and whilst Exeter regular Jack Maunder will be the favourite to start coming the World Championship in the summer, Randall is not going to easily relinquish the jersey.
1. Rhys Carre (Wales)
Another two-time selection, Carre was one of the shining lights for Wales on Friday night, causing a powerful England pack plenty of problems at scrum time.
Going up against the smaller Joseph Morris, Carre was an unmovable object and gave Wales a much-needed platform that they struggled to create from open play.
He didn’t have the same opportunity to impact loose play in the same way he had in the opening week, but his set-piece performance alone was enough to win him the nod here.
2. Joe Mullis (England)
After England’s lineout struggles in their opener, Mullis bounced back excellently against Wales, showing that those initial problems were just a symptom of the short preparation time before the tournament.
In addition to helping the lineout prosper, Mullis also thrived at the breakdown and in the wider channels, acting as a link man with the centres and wings.
Given his background as a dual hooker-openside, this should come as no surprise.
3. Kieron Assirati (Wales)
It was not a stellar weekend for tighthead props but the fact Assirati was able to keep England’s Ollie Dawe at bay is enough to win him this spot.
Wales’ scrum was the clear silver lining to their display on Friday night and their two props certainly delivered in that area.
4. Nick Isiekwe (England)
As ridiculous as it may sound, Maro Itoje and George Kruis do need to be casting a wary glance at Isiekwe, who has the kind of physical and technical attributes to follow in Itoje’s footsteps and breakthrough at Saracens at a young age.
Isiekwe continues to check all the priority boxes of any second row, such as the set-piece, tackling and breakdown, but is also prospering with his ball-carrying and offloading.
His work in linking the forwards and backs against Wales is something we very rarely see from locks, particularly those not in the jerseys of the New Zealand Super Rugby franchises.
5. Mikael Capelli (France)
The French lock was at the heart of everything positive that the French did in overcoming Scotland. The first hour was a nip-and-tuck affair, with momentum to-ing and fro-ing between both sides.
But Capelli put himself about, involving himself in turnovers, hitting a large amount of rucks, and powering over for a decisive first half try that gave France the lead.
6. Tom Curry (England)
Whilst his twin brother Ben fills in for Sale Sharks, Tom is catching the eye with complete and dominant performances for England.
The term ‘6.5’ or hybrid flanker is viewed quite negatively by many but when you see the all-round performance that Curry turned in against Wales, you wonder why that is the case?
Delivering just effectively at the breakdown as he did with ball in hand, and tackling with a work rate that was tiring just to watch, Curry helped give England something that they have often lacked over the last decade at senior level – a back row advantage over Wales.
7. Will Jones (Wales)
Speaking of the back row advantage that England had, it was not as a result of anything short of an emphatic performance from this man.
Jones is not one of those ‘6.5’ prototypes or modern hybrid players, he is an out-and-out openside and showed that on Friday.
It was a tough night for Wales in general, who struggled to live with the power and tempo of England but Jones kept up his end of the bargain, winning turnovers at the breakdown and doing his best to keep Wales swimming against the rip tide that was England.
8. Zach Mercer (England)
Not only the standout player in the Wales vs England game, Mercer was the standout player in the tournament this weekend. It is hard to compare U20 and senior rugby, but if you were to, Mercer may well have been the highlight of the whole weekend.
He broke the gain line at will, offloaded with ease and precision and was constantly popping up as a support man. He defended robustly, contributed at the lineout and led the English pack with aplomb, too.
He is a cut above at this level and it’s easy to see how he has turned himself into such an integral part of the Bath senior team, even at the tender age of 19. Make the most of this man at U20 level while you can because there is a good chance he heads to Argentina with the England senior team this summer, not Georgia with the U20s.
U20 Rugby 