The IRB JWC Trophy
Will England lift the trophy?
Bristol trio all in action on final day of JWC
21 June 2008, 4:42 pm
By Duncan Wood
Bristol trio Josh Brown (Scotland), Luke Eves (England) and Ryan Prosser (Wales) all start for their respective countries on the final day of action in the U20 Junior World Championship on Sunday.

Of the three, it is obviously Eves who is taking part in the most high profile of the fixtures as he lines up for England against New Zealand in the final of the tournament at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea.

England, were seeded sixth before the tournament which gave them a tough route to the final but they have overcome the number three and number two seeds in the past week.

It will be no picnic as Head Coach Nigel Redman confirmed today:

“They’ve got pace out wide, we’ve got pace out wide; they’ve got strong forwards, we’ve got strong forwards. It’s going to be one hell of a Test match on Sunday.”

There are only two changes in personnel to the starting line-up against New Zealand.

Alex Tait misses out with an ankle injury sustained against South Africa, so Cato moves to full back with Mark Odejobi (London Wasps) drafted in on the wing.

The other selection decision was in the back row, where Jon Fisher (London Irish) takes over from Matthew Cox (Worcester Warriors).

Meanwhile, Ryan Prosser starts his second consecutive match for Wales as they seek to clinch third place overall by beating South Africa also in Swansea.

Squad captain Sam Warburton and fellow Blues back row forward Dan Franks both miss out with shoulder injuries picked up in the championship semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday night, while Dragons wing Jimmy Norris suffered a knee injury.

Wales U20 Head Coach Patrick Horgan said:

“South Africa are a very efficient side and it will take a very good performance to beat them. Having said that, if we can pull out all the stops and get a win on Sunday, not only will we finish third in the world, but the only two teams to have beaten us this season will be the Junior World Championship finalists England and New Zealand.”

Finally, having missed out on original selection for the tournament because of injury, second row Josh Brown starts his third consecutive match for Scotland as they aim for ninth place when they take on Ireland in Newport.

Scotland Head Coach Colin Robertson feels there is plenty of incentive for his team:

"We have always looked at the Junior World Championship as being a five game project. Now the guys have got the opportunity to finish in ninth place which they have never done before."

"There is definitely a huge incentive for the players and everyone is completely focused on achieving that goal. We are aiming to play better against Ireland because we felt we didn't play well against Canada; even though we did win. There is growing confidence in the squad after winning two games in a row."

ADD TO DEL.ICIO.USDel.icio.usShare this page
ADD TO DIGGDiggShare this page
ADD TO FACEBOOKFacebookShare this page
ADD TO GOOGLEGoogleShare this page
ADD TO MAGNOLIAMagnoliaShare this page
ADD TO NETSCAPENetscapeShare this page
ADD TO NEWSVINENewsvineShare this page
ADD TO REDDITRedditShare this page
ADD TO STUMBLEUPONStumbleUponShare this page
ADD TO YAHOO MYWEBYahooShare this page
ADD TO WINDOWS LIVEWindows LiveShare this page
Latest News
Bristol Guinness Premiership Highlights
Bristol Rugby Club
The Memorial Stadium
Filton Avenue
Horfield
Bristol BS7 0AQ

Email us here
Tel: 0871 208 2234

Content 2007 © Bristol Rugby, Statistical data © SFMS, Images © Martin Bennett or Getty Images Legal notice delivered by Sotic powered by RedDot Web Content Management