Young Warriors ace Matt Kvesic was among the replacements as the Under 19 England Academies clawed back a big deficit to beat France 37-34 at Newbury on Saturday.
The Academies team was a scratch side with a day’s preparation behind them against a team on tour with games against Scotland and Wales behind them, so it was no surprise that they trailed 17-0 inside the first 20 minutes.
But scores from London Irish wings Sam Edgerley and Marcus Watson, Harlequins hooker Rob Buchanan and Leeds Carnegie number eight Oli Stedman duly got England in front and Sedbergh schoolboy Stuart finished the job with his dart and twist under the posts.
England’s Under 18 captain George Ford (Leicester Tigers) added a conversion and penalty before Owen Farrell (Saracens) took over at fly half to close out the game and add conversions to the Watson and Stuart tries and a late penalty.
The Academies side was run as a development exercise by the England Under 20 coaching team, who clearly have plenty of talent to work with next season along the backline and forwards who matched France after a slow start at the set pieces.
And the win completes a memorable run of games against the French for England’s age group sides. The Under 18s beat their counterparts 33-16 at Newbury in February and the Under 20s secured an RBS 6 Nations record 47-33 win in Saint Nazaire a month later.
Biarritz full back Jean Pascal Barraque finished the game with 19 points from his first minute try, four conversions and two penalties.
He looked downcast after converting a penalty try with the final kick of the match to go with earlier scores from giant Stade Francais prop Mohame Boughanmi and Toulouse flanker Pierre Julien.
U19 England Academies: Jack Wallace (London Wasps, full back), Sam Edgerley (London Irish), Henry Staff (Saracens), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Marcus Watson (London Irish); George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Ryan Glynn (Sale Sharks); Jonny Harris (Leicester Tigers), Jimmy Stevens (Leicester Tigers), Ryan Bower (Leicester Tigers), Kieran Low (London Irish), Addison Lockley (Exeter Chiefs), Sam Jones (London Wasps), Matt Everard (Leicester Tigers, captain), Oli Stedman (Leeds Carnegie).
Replacements (all used): Rob Buchanan (Harlequins), Mako Vunipola (Bristol Rugby), Henry Thomas (Sale Sharks), Ben Glynn (Bristol), Matt Kvesic (Worcester Warriors), Sam Stuart (Harlequins), Guy Armitage (London Irish), Marland Yarde (London Irish).
Scorers: Tries: Edgerley, Stedman, Watson, Buchanan, Stuart. Conversions: Ford, Farrell 2. Penalties: Ford, Farrell.