Cardiff Arms Park
Results:
England 22 USA 40
Canada 53 Wales 17
After the two rounds that leaves the ranking order like this:
Canada 2 wins, USA and Wales 1 win, 1 loss; England 2 losses
Canada in front of Cardiff Castle: Photo Rugby Canada
The Maple Leaflets proved worthy unofficial champions of this new event. After getting the better of England in Round One, they topped 50 points to see off the hosts, Cymru. This is merely the latest indication of the growing power and resource of Canadian 15s rugby.
The shock of the four matches must be the thrashing that England suffered at the hands (and feet) of the American Eaglets. It’s rare these days for any American side to post a win against the white shirts, but they proved far superior to the side the England coaches put out for their second game.
Behind that setback lies a stream of tricky matters:
Was it sensible for the England squad to have two coaches in charge in turn? Both LJ Lewis (U20s) and James Cooper (U18s) took their turn. Did they set an identical game-plan for the two matches? Unlikely, since the chosen 23s were different. But would it have helped unity of thought and action if there had been one hand on the tiller? My instinct says yes.
Each union entered the fray with its own approach to age-group rugby, that is, between U18 and U20 squads. England put out U19 teams. Fair enough, but was it in the belief that they would gain two well-earned victories without resorting to U20s, or with much longer aims in view? There is huge advantage in exposing youngsters to testing standards, but those two results, Canada 36 England 33, and USA 40 England 22, make you wonder whether the outcome matched the intent.
The first game finished very close, but England couldn’t make up for an under-par first half. The second saw the Eaglets put together some exciting, adventurous play that the Red Rosettes had difficulty in countering. That makes three defeats in a row for the U20 side (even if its latest version was U19).
The Canadian and Welsh teams remained largely unchanged. You can argue it both ways. It’s encouraging to see the management backing what they see as their best pick, and heartening for the players themselves. Then there’s the question of giving everyone their chance.
Both came away buoyed by well-earned victories. That is a big plus-point for the competition. Now we may wonder whether it will be repeated in the same format next year, or be adjusted, even expanded in some way. These could include: adding to the competing nations and refining the age-groups more tightly. Canada and USA gave themselves a warm-up game before the first day proper (another win for Canada). That was a sensible way of getting over jet-lag, but did it give them any sort of advantage of the two British sides?
Of course, expense is a limiting factor; so is the time young players have available for a tour far from home. But with age-group rugby growing in importance (the U20 Six Nations the most obvious addition), it would seem the sky’s the limit.
Certainly the managements will be delighted to see so many promising performances from players who could advance rapidly to the next level of achievement.
It’s invidious to pick out a handful of names from so many, but certain players already looked close to senior international class. For Canada, Ava Férence (No 9), Kiki Idowu (hooker), Lana Dueck and Rachel Cullum (centres). For USA the captain, Ashley Cowdrey (full-back), was quite outstanding, and Sereana Vulaono (wing) reminded me of the Eagles’ backs who tore the English side to pieces to gain a place in the final stages of the 2017 RWC.
That leaves a lot of players unmentioned, but the key to success was, as always, a team performance. That is where the Canadians stood out as the most complete side, linking forward and back play most impressively.
