U19 EUROPEAN CUP: FINAL

Hosts France put in a sensational performance to blitz England to take the inaugural under 19s championship with a stunning 56-0 success in Barcares, near Perpignan.

Man of the match, centre Nicolas De Martini scored five tries for the jubilant Tricolours and hooker Kane Bentley, who had a tremendous competition, was outstanding. The French raced into a 20-0 lead at half time and their superior defence constantly put pressure on the English, who struggled to complete their sets of six. Those errors cost England dearly, handing good field position to the hosts on several occasions.

Catalans Chairman Bernard Guasch and members of the French Federation were on hand to witness the French victory.

Nicolas Larrat the French Federation President and Vice Chairperson of the RLEF was on hand to present the trophy to the winning French skipper, Jean-Philippe Baile and commented. “It was a great tournament and I now look forward to further European age group competitions”.

Tournament Director, Jean Eric Ducuing added, “It was a great sporting event and I have praised the visiting teams for their performances both on and off the field.”

FRANCE
Cédric Barnagaud, Adrien Maurel, Nicolas De Martini, Christopher Herold, Frédéric Vaccari, Nicolas Delgal, Aurélien Besset, Ismaël Khattabi, Kane Bentley, Mohammed Jamil, Vincent Duport, Florian Quintilla, Jean-Philippe Baile (capt.). Subs: Mickaël Simon, Michael Tribillac, Jacques Rives, Julien Espugna

ENGLAND
Darren Fletcher, James Haynes, Daniel Chrimes, Sam Gee (capt.), Vinny Finnegan, Chris Tuson, Scott Low,  Alex Raymond, Daniel Whitmore, Greg Mannion, Adam Rudd, Gareth Knowles, Kristian Hodson. Subs: David Rolt, Jamie Hopkins, David Cookson, Rick Jones