England Rugby League

England Youth

Fightback comes too late for England Youth

A spirited second half fightback came too late as England Youth were defeated 29-14 by France Under-16s in the second Test in Entraigues on Friday night.

England battled hard after the break but left themselves with too much to do after falling 23-0 behind before the interval to opponents who had won the first Test 19-16 in Carpentras earlier in the week.

The tourists, all of who are aged 15 or 16 and are on scholarship schemes with Engage Super League and Co-operative Championships clubs, gave a good account of themselves as they gained valuable representative experience.

The fightback was sparked by a try from Josh Sunley, the Leeds Rhinos and Hunslet Warriors winger, following good play by Tom Gilmore and Liam McAvoy.

Captain Danny Yates, the St Helens and Waterhead scrum-half, then crashed over for a try between the posts from a break by Ben Currie to imbue England with more belief.

Gilmore, the Widnes Vikings and Halton stand-off, grabbed a third try but France held out to wrap up the series 2-0.

England head coach Dave Elliott said: “We are all very disappointed with the first half performance but we showed a lot of character and honesty in the second half.

“I was particularly impressed by huge performances from Liam McAvoy, Steve Ward and John Bateman, all of whom really fronted up to the challenge of the impressive French side.

“This has been a huge learning and development curve for them, both as players and young men and I am sure it will help them in their bright Rugby League careers.”

The England Youth team for the second Test in Entraigues was (professional and community clubs in brackets):

1 - Saul Beavis (Hull FC, West Hull)
2 - Josh Sunley (Leeds Rhinos, Hunslet Warriors)
3 - Chris Taylor (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Pats)
4 - James Saltonstall (Warrington Wolves, Siddal)
5 - Ben Warrilow (Warrington Wolves, Newsome Panthers)
6 - Thomas Gilmore (Widnes Vikings, Halton Hornets)
7 - Danny Yates (St Helens, Waterhead)
8 - Liam McAvoy (Whitehaven, Broughton Red Rose)
9 - Conner Spencer (Huddersfield Giant, Hunslet Warriors)
10 - Bradley Ashurst (St Helens, Portico Vine)
11 - John Bateman (Bradford Bulls, Dudley Hill)
12 - Ben Currie (Wigan Warriors, Golbourne Parkside)
13 - Stevie Ward (Leeds Rhinos, Hunslet Warriors).
 
Interchange
14 - Lewis Foster (St Helens, Portico Vine)
15 – Bobby Tyson-Wilson (Hull FC, West Hull)
16 - William Milner (Bradford Bulls, Kings Cross Park)
17 - Jordan Baldwinson (Leeds Rhinos, Hunslet Warriors)