ENGLAND U18s assistant and backs coach Will Parkin was taken aback by the quality of the current group that delivered on their attacking principles whilst on tour.
The 27-20 comeback victory over Georgia, who replaced France due to their player Medhi Narjissi going missing whilst swimming off a beach near Cape Town pre-tournament, was sandwiched between defeats to Ireland (42-28) and South Africa (39-17). While one win from three won't excite supporters, it should be noted that South Africa's and Ireland's squads are both a school year above England at a crucial age in their development.
Parkin told The Rugby Paper: "Firstly, I need to pass on condolences to France and the loss of Medhi.
It started the tournament on a very sad note but it was a great three weeks for our players to experience scenarios they haven't before. The focus for us was to improve over the course of the three games rather than focusing on results.
"With Ireland and South Africa a school year above our boys, there was a clear challenge physicality wise putting them under different pressure than they would have faced before. 17, 18, 19 in rugby is when it starts to become a lot more serious compared to other sports that start a bit earlier."
Esta historia es de la edición August 25, 2024 de The Rugby Paper.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 25, 2024 de The Rugby Paper.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
England can find a little bit of cheer
SO HERE we are on the final day of England’s autumn international series with all of us hoping and expecting Steve Borthwick’s team to win today after three weeks of bitter disappointment.
Stop messing with Marcus - Campese
DAVID Campese believes England are going backwards under Steve Borthwick, who is ‘messing around’ with talisman Marcus Smith.
Being a Lion was the highlight of my career
I PLAYED 19 games and scored 219 points for the Lions, on the tours to South Africa in 1968 and New Zealand in 1971, but I never played in a Test and that was fair enough.
Cook's crew not fazed as they eye tilt at top half
THERE appear to be few signs of second season syndrome at Westcombe Park as captain Nick Cook reveals the group aren’t even contemplating the threat of relegation and are instead targeting a top-half finish.
Forwards pack a punch for the Reds
OLD Redcliffians produced a proud defensive effort to take a bonus-point win.
Tom 'Ailes' the achievements of inspirational skipper Riley
SEDGLEY Park No. 8 Tom Ailes says his team relish the competitive nature of National One and is confident the Tigers can rectify their rocky start to the season in weeks to come.
Strachan confident Ampthill will be firing again soon
FRASER Strachan is determined to put Ampthill’s leaky defensive showings behind them and gain some much needed confidence in the run up to Christmas.
It's a whole new ball game for Rigg
WILL Rigg’s ambition was to become a professional cricketer but it is the oval ball rather than The Oval that is his driver now.
Scarratt leads the way for Lightning
LOUGHBOROUGH won a wet and windy East Midlands Derby after having the bonus point in the bag by half-time.
Becconsall: We need to release pressure
WILL Becconsall says Exeter are not spooked by the threat of relegation as they look to turn around their Premiership campaign after starting with six straight defeats.
