Scotland Under-20s play part in Six Nations title thriller as rising star catches eye

France eventually prevailed 45-40 at the Stade Jean Bouin and coupled with England losing 23-13 to Wales, the French landed the title.

However, they were made to work by a spirited and competitive Scotland team, who were buoyed by last week’s win over Wales - their first in the competition for two years. The visitors ran in five tries and flanker Freddy Douglas put in an eye-catching performance in the back row.

Jack Brown, Fergus Watson, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Cameron van Wyk and Douglas all scored tries for Scotland, with Matthew Urwin landing two conversions, two penalties and a drop goal. Brown also added two points but it was not enough to overhaul the French.

Scotland went in 33-22 down at the break but steadfastly refused to bow to pressure from France and went into the final play of the match still able to record a surprise win.

Scotland finish the tournament on seven points in fifth place, one ahead of Ireland. The bonus points picked up in Paris allow them to avoid the wooden spoon. France, meanwhile, ended the tournament in first place on 20 points, two ahead of England.

Their captain Antoine Deliance said afterwards: "It's a very emotional moment. We're really happy with the incredible crowd in Paris. We tried to stay focused and be more disciplined than last week in Ireland, even though we still made a lot of mistakes. The coaches gave us a lot of instructions, which helped us manage the game, even if we panicked a bit at the end."

France stand-off Jean Cotarmanac'h added: "Last year was a bit tough—we lost at home to Béziers, and that really hurt. Now, it's amazing to be able to give this to our supporters. They showed up in large numbers. Winning the title is fantastic, even though it wasn't our main objective. The first goal was to win the match, and the circumstances worked out for us."

The teams

France Under-20s: 15. Jon Echegaray (Union Bordeaux-Bègles), 14. Nolann Donguy (Racing 92), 13. Oliver Cowie (RC Toulon), 12. Simeli Daunivucu (Stade Rochelais), 11. Xan Mousques (Aviron Bayonnais), 10. Jean Cotarmanac’h (RC Vannes), 9. Baptiste Tilloles (Aviron Bayonnais), 1. Samuel Jean-Christophe (RC Toulon), 2. Lyam Akrab (Montpellier HR), 3. Mohamed Megherbi (Stade Toulousain), 4. Charles Kante Samba (Stade Rochelais), 5. Jacques Nguimbous (Union Bordeaux-Bègles), 6. Antoine Deliance (Lyon OU) (c), 7. Noa Traversier (Aviron Bayonnais), 8. Antoine Chalus-Cercy (ASM Clermont Auvergne). Replacements: 16. Quentin Algay (CA Brive), 17. Lorencio Boyer Gallardo (USA Perpignan), 18. Jean-Yves Liufau (ASM Clermont Auvergne), 19. Corentin Mézou (RC Toulon), 20. Mathis Baret (FC Grenoble), 21. Simon Daroque (Stade Toulousain), 22. Ugo Pacome (Colomiers Rugby)

Scotland Under-20s: 15. Jack Brown (Edinburgh Rugby), 14. Nairn Moncrieff (Edinburgh Rugby), 13. Angus Hunter (Heriot’s Rugby), 12. Kerr Yule (Glasgow Warriors), 11. Fergus Watson (Glasgow Warriors), 10. Matthew Urwin (Glasgow Warriors), 9. Noah Cowan (Brunel University/Ealing Trailfinders), 1. Oliver McKenna (Glasgow Warriors), 2. Seb Stephen (Edinburgh Academical FC), 3. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty (Edinburgh Rugby), 4. Bart Godsell (Loughborough University), 5. Dan Halkon (Glasgow Warriors), 6. Oliver Duncan (Edinburgh Rugby), 7. Freddy Douglas (Edinburgh Rugby) (c), 8. Reuben Logan (Northampton Saints). Replacements: 16. Joe Roberts (Glasgow Warriors), 17. Jake Shearer (Glasgow Warriors), 18. Jamie Stewart (Edinburgh Rugby), 19. Charlie Moss (Montpellier), 20. Mark Fyffe (University of Edinburgh), 21. Hamish MacArthur (Edinburgh Rugby), 22. Ross Wolfenden (Edinburgh Rugby), 23. Cameron van Wyk (Ayr RFC).