Scotland too much for USA in u20 Trophy Final

Scotland have reclaimed their spot in the World Rugby u20 Championship. The home favorites won promotion to the top division after outclassing the USA 48-10 in the u20 Trophy Final played in Edinburgh on Wednesday evening. Despite the tough defeat it’s the best result for the Americans at the second-tier tournament in over a decade.

The USA set piece was under pressure from the start with both the scrum and lineout unable to secure their own ball. Second row Euan McVie scored the first of his three tries on the day from close range. After a spell of frustration, Johnny Ventisei’s outside-in angle beat the defense for Scotland’s second try and a third came before halftime from Tom Currie.

Corbin Smith got the Americans on the board with a penalty goal early in the second half but a mistake at the restart resulted in a penalty and driving maul try to Jerry Blyth-Lafferty. Strong tackling from the USA held the Scots out until Blyth-Lafferty got a double, this time using his footwork to find the line.

McVie would score twice in the dying minutes, with Kerr Yule adding a single to round out Scotland’s scoring. The Americans would at least have the final say as a cross-kick from Ollie Cline found leading try scorer Keelan Farrell for a consolation effort.

At the tournament’s end Scotland finished with 318 points scored in four games with 35 against for a differential of +283. The USA close out with 116 points scored and 113 against.

SCOTLAND 48
Tries (8) – E. McVie 3 (9′, 71′, 75′), J. Ventisei (27′), T. Currie (38′), J. Blyth-Lafferty 2 (46′, 66′), K. Yule (78′)
Cons (4) – A. McLean 1/4 (28′), J. Hocking 3/4 (67′, 73′, 77′)

USA 10
Tries (1) – K. Farrell (80’+1′)
Cons (1) – C. Smith 1/1 (80’+2′)
Pens (1) – C. Smith 1/1 (45′)

SCOTLAND u20
1 Robbie Deans, 2 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 4 Euan McVie, 5 Ruaraidh Hart, 6 Liam McConnell (capt.), 7 Freddy Douglas, 8 Tom Currie, 9 Conor McAlpine, 10 Andrew McLean, 11 Geordie Gwynn, 12 Findlay Thomson, 13 Johnny Ventisei, 14 Finlay Doyle, 15 Fergus Watson

Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Ben White, 18 Jake Shearer, 19 Dylan Cockburn, 20 Ollie Duncan, 21 Hector Patterson, 22 Kerr Yule, 23 Jack Hocking

USA u20
1 Asbjorn Ross, 2 Cade Crist (co-capt.), 3 Asa Rosenmeier, 4 George Engels, 5 Braemar Murray, 6 Graeme Pedegana, 7 Daniel Lowther, 8 Logan Ballinger, 9 Spencer Huntley, 10 Rand Santos, 11 Keelan Farrell, 12 Max Threlkeld, 13 Dom Besag (co-capt.), 14 Jordan Vassel, 15 Corbin Smith

Replacements: 16 Seth Smith, 17 Thomas Wagner, 18 Luke Schaefer, 19 Brice Muller, 20 Dylan Fortune, 21 Solomon Williams, 22 Ollie Cline, 23 Holden Hahn

Date: Wednesday, July 17
Venue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
Kickoff: 19:45 local
Weather: partly cloudy, 63°F (17°C)