England U18's AER Tournament - March 2008

England 53 - 3 Georgia

Under-18s reshuffle backs for AER semi


March 18 2008

England Under-18s have reshuffled their back division for their game against Ireland in the AER (Association Europeenne de Rugby) Championship semi-final against Ireland in San Dona Di Piave, Italy tomorrow (7pm GMT).

England, who are attempting to win the title for the third time in four seasons, booked their place in the last four by beating a physical Georgia side 53-3 in Mogliano on Sunday.

They have made just two changes to their starting line-up with Reuben Haile of Gloucstershire, who was one of four unused replacements against Georgia, taking the place of Jon Kennedy on the left wing and Matt Keyte of Surrey replacing Craig Hampson of Yorkshire at scrum-half. Kennedy is the son of Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy.

Kennedy and Hampson will take their place among the eleven replacements, up to seven of whom may be used against Ireland.

The forwards, who impressed against a big Georgian pack on Sunday, are unchanged.

The winners of tomorrow's game will play either France, the holders, or Italy in Saturday's final at Treviso. France play Italy at Casale Sul Sile tomorrow evening.

England will be attempting to avenge a narrow defeat by Italy in last season's competition which denied them a hat-trick of titles. Ireland went on to lose to France in a kicking contest after the scores were level and England went into the third-place play-off.

England Under-18s:
15 Marcus Watson (St George's College, London Irish and Surrey)
14 Nico Fraser ((Haileybury College, Saracens and Essex)
13 Jordan Davies (Denstone College, Eccles and Lancashire)
12 Will East (St Paul's School, Barnes, London Wasps and Middlesex - captain)
11 Reuben Haile (St Peter's Sixth Form Centre, Gloucester and Gloucestershire)
10 Joe Ford (Rishworth School and Yorkshire)
9 Matt Keyte (Dulwich College, Harlequins and Surrey)
1 Peter Austin (Worthing College, Havant and Hampshire)
2 Jimmy Stevens (Truro College, SWERA and Cornwall)
3 Shaun Knight (St Peter's Sixth Form Centre, Gloucester and Gloucestershire)
4 Daniel Wright (St Peter's Sixth Form Centre, Gloucester and Gloucestershire)
5 Rhys Jones (Corsham School, Corsham and Dorset & Wiltshire)
6 Will Welch (RGS Newcastle, Newcastle Falcons and Northumberland)
7 Matt Everard (Queen Elizabeth II School, Leicester Tigers and Leicestershire)
8 Jake Parker (Millfield School, South West Regional Academy and Cornwall).

Replacements: Mark Atkinson (St Ambrose College, Sale Sharks and Cheshire), Ross Chisholm (Brighton College, Harlequins and Sussex),Jon Kennedy (Sale Sharks and Cheshire), Craig Hampson (Harrogate College, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire), Henry Staff (Bedford Modern School , Saracens and East Midlands), Marcus Watson (St George?s College, London Irish and Surrey).Forwards: Arthur Ellis (St Benedict's School, Ealing, London Wasps and Middlesex), James Freeman (Bromsgrove School, Camp Hill and North Midlands), Aaron Hall (Berwick HS, Newcastle Falcons and Northumberland), Kane Palma-Newport (Beechen Cliff School, Bath and Somerset), Ollie Stedman (Kings School, Tynemouth, Percy Park and Northumberland), Yann Thomas (Weston-super-Mare and Somerset).

Quote:

England will be attempting to avenge a narrow defeat by Italy in last season's competition which denied them a hat-trick of titles. Ireland went on to lose to France in a kicking contest after the scores were level and England went into the third-place play-off.

They mean Ireland rather than Italy there I think?

Matt Keyte (no 9) is supposed to be back playing for my local club in a couple of weeks, my no 1 son is hoping to play and would love to be able to say he played with an England player!

ligger PM you ages ago

Ireland scored a try inside the first couple of minutes.

Finished 8-3 to Ireland. France will join them in the final as they beat Italy 22-15.

According to the update thingy on FIRA our best players were 14 & 15.

England Under-18s 3 Ireland Under-18s 8

England's hopes of winning the AER (Association Europeenne de Rugby) Championship for a third time in four seasons were shattered by Ireland for a second successive year with a narrow defeat in San Dona Di Piave, Italy tonight.

Last season a two point defeat denied England a place in the final. This time a courageous performance by an improving and inexperienced just failed to secure victory.

England will now play Italy in the third-place play-off in Treviso on Saturday March 22 (1pm GMT). Italy also put up brave resistance before they were beaten 21-15 by defending champions France in their semi-final.

"We are bitterly disappointed," said England's lead coach Graham Whitmore who is stepping down after five years in charge at the end of the AER event.

"We feel that we have got a good side who are capable of challenging at this level. We have made a big improvement in the short time that we have been together and the assistant coaches, Paul Mullan and Tim McBennett, have done a fantastic job in taking the players' performance up another level.

"The players share our disappointment at missing out on a place in the final. We now have the job of lifting them for what will be a difficult game against Italy on Saturday.

"But I am extremely proud of the hard work done by the coaches and all the boys and the way we maintained the high standard of performance that we set against Georgia last Sunday.

"The game was very-finely balanced, the forwards did a huge amount of work. Our problem was that we conceded an early try which put us on the back foot and we had to do quite a lot of kicking, particularly in the first half.

"Ireland played a limited but effective game, they also played the referee well and we were perhaps a little bit unlucky to be called back for forward passes when we had try scoring opportunities in the second half."

It was passes from Nico Fraser to Reuben Haile and from fly-half Joe Ford to Jordan Davies that were ruled forward by the French referee.

Having conceded a try within 53 seconds, England got back to 5-3 by half time when Ford (Rishworth School and Yorkshire) kicked an excellent 40 metres penalty.

Despite mounting pressure, England could not turn it into points and Ireland were able to land a penalty, the only points of a tense second half, to secure another slender win.

Ford almost levelled the scores with the last play of the game when he put in clever crossfield which narrowly eluded replacement winger Jon Kennedy.

England will need to give a fitness test to lock Rhys Jones, who suffered a neck injury, before they finalise their side to face Italy.

Ireland will now play France in a re-run of last season's final in Treviso on Saturday.


England Under-18s:
15 Marcus Watson (St George's College, London Irish and Surrey)
14 Nico Fraser ((Haileybury College, Saracens and Essex)
13 Jordan Davies (Denstone College, Eccles and Lancashire)
12 Will East (St Paul's School, Barnes, London Wasps and Middlesex - captain)
11 Reuben Haile (St Peter's Sixth Form Centre, Gloucester and Gloucestershire)
10 Joe Ford (Rishworth School and Yorkshire)
9 Matt Keyte (Dulwich College, Harlequins and Surrey)
1 Peter Austin (Worthing College, Havant and Hampshire)
2 Jimmy Stevens (Truro College, SWERA and Cornwall)
3 Shaun Knight (St Peter's Sixth Form Centre, Gloucester and Gloucestershire)
4 Daniel Wright (St Peter's Sixth Form Centre, Gloucester and Gloucestershire)
5 Rhys Jones (Corsham School, Corsham and Dorset & Wiltshire)
6 Will Welch (RGS Newcastle, Newcastle Falcons and Northumberland)
7 Matt Everard (Queen Elizabeth II School, Leicester Tigers and Leicestershire)
8 Jake Parker (Millfield School, South West Regional Academy and Cornwall).

Replacements used: Jon Kennedy (Sale Sharks and Cheshire), Craig Hampson (Harrogate College, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire), Forwards: Arthur Ellis (St Benedict's School, Ealing, London Wasps and Middlesex), Aaron Hall (Berwick HS, Newcastle Falcons and Northumberland), Kane Palma-Newport (Beechen Cliff School, Bath and Somerset), Ollie Stedman (Kings School, Tynemouth, Percy Park and Northumberland), Yann Thomas (Weston-super-Mare and Somerset).

England Under-18s bring in seven starters for Italy game


England Under-18s will give first starts to seven players as they attempt to end the AER (Association Europeenne de Rugby) Championship on a high by beating Italy in the third place play-off in Treviso tomorrow (1.30pm GMT).

England missed out on a place in the final when they were beaten 8-3 by Ireland in Wednesday’s semi-final but they will secure a third seed place for next season’s competition if they win their final game.

Gloucestershire lock Dan Wright has been ruled out with an ankle injury which means a first start for Aaron Hall.

But the selectors have made six other changes bringing a new front of Yann Thomas, Arthur Ellis and Kane Palma-Newport, a new fly-half in Mark Atkinson, Henry Staff on the left wing and Ollie Stedman at number eight.

Jon Kennedy, who played on the wing in England’s win over Georgia last Sunday, has been moved to the centre in place of Jordan Davies.

“We were devastated to lose against Ireland but we are determined to finish the competition on a high,“ said England team manager Ted Atkinson, who steps down after tomorrow’s game.

“We have managed to pick the players up and the medical team have worked very hard indeed to get everyone back on their feet.

“Apart from the usual bumps and bruises we have had a bit of sickness in the camp but, apart from Dan Wright, everyone is fit.

“We are expecting a tough final game because Italy are a stronger side than they were last year and they came very close to beating France, the defending champions, on


England Under-18s:

15 Marcus Watson (St George's College, London Irish and Surrey);
14 Nico Fraser (Haileybury College, Saracens and Essex),
13 Will East (St Paul's School, Barnes, London Wasps and Middlesex - captain),
12 Jon Kennedy (Sale Sharks and Cheshire),
11 Henry Staff (Bedford Modern School, Saracens and East Midlands);
10 Mark Atkinson (St Ambrose College, Sale Sharks and Cheshire),
9 Matt Keyte (Dulwich College, Harlequins and Surrey);
1 Yann Thomas (Weston-super-Mare and Somerset)
2 Arthur Ellis (St Benedict’s School Ealing, London Wasps and Middlesex),
3 Kane Palma-Newport (Beechen Cliff School, Bath and Somerset),
4 Aaron Hall (Berwick HS, Newcastle Falcons and Northumberland),
5 Rhys Jones (Corsham School, Corsham and Dorset & Wiltshire),
6 Will Welch (RGS Newcastle, Newcastle Falcons and Northumberland),
7 Matt Everard (Queen Elizabeth II School, Leicester Tigers and Leicestershire),
8 Ollie Stedman (Kings School Tynemouth, Percy Park and Northumberland).

Replacements: Jake Parker (Millfield School, South West Regional Academy and Cornwall),
Craig Hampson (Harrogate College, Leeds Carnegie and Yorkshire) ,
Jordan Davies (Denstone College, Eccles and Lancashire),
Joe Ford (Rishworth School and Yorkshire),
Peter Austin (Worthing College, Havant and Hampshire),
Jimmy Stevens (Truro College, SWERA and Cornwall),
Shaun Knight (St Peter's Gloucester, Gloucester and Gloucestershire),
James Freeman (Bromsgrove School, Camp Hill and North Midlands),
Reuben Haile (St Peter’s Gloucester, Gloucester and Gloucestershire),
Ross Chisholm (Brighton College, Harlequins and Sussex).

England won 21-5.

Fraser the winger was praised again by the updater on the FIRA site.

The scrum half Keyte was also praised.

England Under-18s beat Italy in third place play-off

England Under-18s secured third place in the AER (Association Europeenne de Rugby) Championship by beating hosts Italy 21-5 in today's play-off in Treviso.

The win means that England will go into next year's competition as third seeds for the second season running. It also meant that lead coach Graham Whitmore and team manager Ted Atkinson were able to retire on a winning note..

Whitmore, of Truro School, has been England's lead coach for five years during which time they have won the AER competition three times. Yorkshireman Atkinson steps down after a seven year involvement at this level, initially with the England Under-18 Clubs side.

"Ted has been the glue that has held everything together and he has done a fantastic job," Whitmore said. "We were disappointed to lose to Ireland in the semi-finals for the second year running. But to finish with a win and third place in the Championship was a great way to bow out."

England expected and got a stern test from Italy who pushed defending champions France close in midweek. England were only 7-0 up at half-time after hooker Arthur Ellis chased a kick ahead from Jon Kennedy and Mark Atkinson added the conversion.

But England tightened up after the break and took control with a superb length of the pitch try which was created by replacement fly-half Joe Ford's eye for an opening. Ford's attack was supported by Nico Fraser and Matt Keyte's chip over the advancing defence was snaffled by replacement centre Jordan Davies who scored the try. Ford added the conversion and he also improved England's third try which was scored by Kennedy, the son of Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy.

Italy pulled back an unconverted consolation try midway through the second half, but England defended resolutely thereafter with back-row forwards Will Welch and Matt Everard and prop Yann Thomas impressing.

"The players have bonded well in the time that we have been away and they have made significant progress since we were beaten by the Northampton Saints Academy in a warm-up game last month," Whitmore said.

"They have finally arrived as an international side and that is down to the hard work that the players have put in and the way that they have responded to efforts of the coaching team. While we have been out here in Italy a huge amount of work has gone in both in match analysis and in preparation work on the training field and the time that we have been able to spend with the players has really paid dividends."

England Under-18s: 15 Marcus Watson (St George's College, London Irish and Surrey) ; 14 Nico Fraser (Haileybury College, Saracens and Essex) , 13 Will East (St Paul's School, Barnes, London Wasps and Middlesex - captain) ,
12 Jon Kennedy (Sale Sharks and Cheshire) , 11 Henry Staff (Bedford Modern School, Saracens and East Midlands) ; 10 Mark Atkinson (St Ambrose College, Sale Sharks and Cheshire) , 9 Matt Keyte (Dulwich College, Harlequins and Surrey) ; 1 Yann Thomas (Weston-super-Mare and Somerset) , 2 Arthur Ellis (St Benedict’s School Ealing, London Wasps and Middlesex) , 3 Kane Palma-Newport (Beechen Cliff School, Bath and Somerset) , 4 Aaron Hall (Berwick HS, Newcastle Falcons and Northumberland) , 5 Rhys Jones (Corsham School, Corsham and Dorset & Wiltshire) , 6 Will Welch (RGS Newcastle, Newcastle Falcons and Northumberland) , 7 Matt Everard (Queen Elizabeth II School, Leicester Tigers and Leicestershire) , 8 Ollie Stedman (Kings School Tynemouth, Percy Park and Northumberland) . Replacements used: Jordan Davies (Denstone College, Eccles and Lancashire), Joe Ford (Rishworth School and Yorkshire), Jimmy Stevens (Truro College, SWERA and Cornwall), Shaun Knight (St Peter's Gloucester, Gloucester and Gloucestershire), James Freeman (Bromsgrove School, Camp Hill and North Midlands), Ross Chisholm (Brighton College, Harlequins and Sussex)