SCOTLAND'S IRB Under-20 World Cup campaign started badly as they lost 29-17 against Samoa last night at Wrexham. But the Scots were by no means outplayed and came close to beating their higher-ranked opponents only to concede vital late scores.
"The scoreboard simply didn't reflect the game," said Scotland coach Colin Robertson. "We caused them a lot of problems in the forwards."
Heriot's No8 Craig Simmonds frequently made the hard yards but the Scots could not match the Samoans behi
nd the scrum where their slick running was a constant threat.
Scotland led 10-9 at the break with a fine solo try from Rhuaraidh Jackson following up his own grubber kick to score under the posts, the conversion and a penalty goal by Steve McColl.
But Scotland were undone in the second half as errors and particularly interceptions cost them dearly, allowing Samoa to run in three tries.
McColl, though, opened up the midfield with an angled run, and Selkirk wing Lee Jones was on hand to finish in the corner with an impressive try.
Scotland next face South Africa, who scored 100 points against USA in their opening match.
Scotland U20 scorers: Tries: Jackson, Jones. Cons: McColl 2. Pen: McColl
Scotland U20: P Horne (Howe of Fife); L Jones (Selkirk), C Kinloch (Edinburgh Academicals), S McColl (Dunfermline), P Loudon (Durham University); R Jackson (Glasgow Hawks, capt), P Jericevich (GHA); G Strain (Glasgow Hawks), A Duncan (Stewart-Melville FP), J Stafford (Hillhead/Jordanhill), F McKenzie (Heriot's), R Gray (Stirling County), S Burton (Currie), A Rose (Hartpury College), C Simmonds (Heriot's). Substitutes: N Shannon (Aberdeen Grammar FP), L Niven (Edinburgh Academicals), N Patrick (Dunfermline), L Calder (Newcastle Falcons), R Samson (Newcastle Falcons), J Murray ((Leeds Carnegie and Edinburgh Academicals).
The full article contains 299 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
