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."
This story is from the August 25, 2024 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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This story is from the August 25, 2024 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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