3 Tigers in the U20’s squad

[MCC1964]

Cap’n Jack Man of the Match!

Mind you, it was awarded by Benjamin Keyser!

[RagingBull]

winning

JVP Man of the Match

[Scott1]

Nice! Buzzing,thanks RB!

[MCC1964]

38-22 (half time 3-19).

[TigerFeetSteve]

Great 2nd half, good performance by all 3 Tigers, JvP MotM great win 5 points to nil, pretty good from 19-3 down

[RagingBull]

Muncaster had a big game for Scotland despite the loss shame he picked the Scots and Edinburgh over us and England

[Jimmy Skitz]

Oh damn, missed it, highlights on YouTube?

[kpj tiger]

Excellent performance from England in the 2nd half, JVP was excellent although he did get caught around the ruck fringes a couple times, Vanes was the standout forward in the first half and Ilione looks like a really special talent to me, I just worry if he is a Borthwick style player or not

[JP14]

Ilione is a lineout forward though, is he not?

[kpj tiger]

Illione is a lineout forward though, is he not?

He is, without getting ahead of myself he seems like a hybrid of Itoje and Croft to me, what worries me is Sam Lewis was also in that mould (athletic rather than bulk).

[RagingBull]

He’s also strong enough over the ball to play across the back row.

I would say Lewis was more in the Croft mould than say Itoje hybrid type

[TigerFeetSteve]

What's Fin Smith's contract situation, he looked a bright young Fly half IMO just the sort of guy we need

[Jimmy Skitz]

for those interested the full match can be seen here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_gYBL6bYAo&t=34s

[RagingBull]

I also wouldn't underestimate Ilione size for a 19 year old.
He still has another year at Under 20's after this.

[iceman_19]

Really recommend watching it if anyone is interested in checking out the next generation. Obviously real talents for both England and France (Epe for France may be Kolbe mk 2!) - but in terms of Tigers performances, for me:

JVP: Magnificent, his kicking and tactical control / decision making was absolutely top drawer. Not only were his box kicks on the money almost every time, his kicking for corners - recognition of when full backs and wingers had left space - was flawless. Big reason why England utterly dominated territory in 2nd half. Played 79 mins and his service was razor sharp and accurate throughout. Only work on was that he got caught at the back of the ruck a couple of times, sometimes because he was waiting for options and not aware he was being hunted down.

Vanes: played 44 mins, strong defensive shift. Smashed back an opponent in the first 10 (commentator wrongly attributed it to someone else) to win a turnover and then did a successful jackal later on. Darts looked spot on until one randomly went very skewed. Couldn’t get into the game in attack (not many England players did in the first half) - one of his few carries was a bit of a hospital pass from JVP which led to him getting absolutely battered by an impressive French flanker…think JVP owes him a beer for that!

Ilione: Massive impact from Emeka off the bench. First thing to note is what an athlete he is, serious specimen. Frightening to thing he is (I think) part of the younger crop so will fill out more. Had half an hour and won a jackal at the end, one good carry where he bumped off one defender and drove into 2 others, and some brutal chop tackles. Really strong cameo, great to see him have a run after what I understand was a frustrating season with injury.

JVP was one of a few who looked like he was on another level. Really promising stuff.