The U20s Trophy campaign has seen a wide range of teams travel to Edinburgh to battle it out for the promotion to the championship. With the tournament rounding off soon, I had an amazing opportunity to watch the action with the penultimate round of matches taking place at Hive Stadium.
The action on the pitch was met with electrifying support from family and friends throughout the day, with the first round that brought Samoa and Hong Kong China to the field. The soaring Samoans grabbed their first win of the tournament with an impressive score of 39-19 against their opponents. The game was a mighty fight until the final whistle, where Hong Kong China’s defensive efforts shone through. Samoa’s captain Tagilima Ripine enhanced how important the victory was for the team, “we all feel happy because of this game, we worked so hard for this, and it’s great to get a win.”
After a short recess, it was time for the first fixture from Pool B of the day, which saw Kenya and USA take to the field. Team USA started off on the right foot, and the leaders of the table certainly proved themselves with impressive early tries. The Kenyan efforts didn’t go unrecognised with their strengths centered in their defensive play. The remarkable support in the stands for the respective teams certainly spurred the sides on, but it was USA who took the win with a 17-30 score, which takes the side to the 1st place playoff on Wednesday 17th July. The captain of the winning team, Solomon Williams highlighted the “tough opponent” of Kenya and their fight until the final whistle was certainly an impressive one to watch.
The next clash saw Uruguay and the Netherlands ramp up the energy with both teams raring for a win. Soon enough, Uruguay took control of the game and continuous tries from the side earned them the victory against Holland, with an impressive 29-13 score. The winning side were buzzing with excitement as captain Franco Bertini exclaimed, “it was a tough game, but hard work in training led to the team pulling together and taking the win.”
The final fixture of the evening saw the mighty Japan take on the home side of Scotland in what was bound to be an exhilarating game of rugby at Hive Stadium. With the supporters once again in full force, Scotland got off to a flying start with Geordie Gwynn soaring over the white-wash. As the half-time whistle blew, Scotland led 12-0, and Japan’s efforts in the ’22 were evident but it wasn’t enough against the powerful defence from the Scots. As the game continued Japan were eager to catch up, but it was an impressive attacking game from Scotland, and they rightfully took the win with the 39-5 score. After the game, I was grateful for the chance to speak to Scotland captain, Liam McConnell who was delighted with his team’s performance, “We stuck with all the points that we spoke about, throughout the week. It all went to plan to be honest.”
Scotland face the USA U20s in the final tonight, which will determine the promotion to the World Rugby U20s Championship.