Five things we learned as Scotland win World Rugby U20 Trophy

It was perhaps a reflection of the standard of the tournament that despite not hitting the heights of last Friday’s win over Japan, Scotland ran in seven tries and never looked like losing.  

Lock Euan McVie helped himself to a hat-trick, while hooker Ollie Blyth-Lafferty scored twice as the forwards dominated their US counterparts.  

Scotland got going inside 10 minutes when McVie powered over for the first of his treble and made their dominance count just shy of the half-hour as Conor McAlpine broke from his own half before centre Johnny Ventisei cut through a huge hole in the US defence to go under the posts.  

Andrew McLean, who failed with his first conversion, made no mistake from in front to put Scotland 12-0 to the good.  

Corbin Smith, the American fullback, was well short with an ambitious penalty attempt just inside the Scottish half  

Scotland’s power game was the dominant force in a first half largely controlled by the hosts, and it was to the fore as they went over again two minutes before the break as Tom Currie rumbled over. McLean sliced the conversion across the face of the posts, but Scotland were in command, 17-0 ahead at the break.  

The US made a good start to the second half and got on the board when Smith landed a penalty, but an error from the restart handed Scotland a penalty, and the home side’s dominance up front saw Jerry Blyth-Lafferty power over.  

The hooker added a second try to put the game beyond doubt with quarter of an hour to go and replacement Jack Hocking converting to give Scotland a 29-3 lead.  

A late flurry of scores, including two close-range efforts from McVie as he completed his hat-trick – and one from Kerr Yule, put Scotland out of sight before Keelan Farrell’s late consolation for the visitors.  

Here are five things we learned from Hive Stadium. 

Set-piece dominance key

No matter what the level, it is impossible to win a game of rugby without a set-piece that achieves at least parity with its opposition.  

The USA were a cut above the rest of Scotland’s opponents in this competition so far in every other aspect, but they were blown away at the set-piece. Led by Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, the young Scots eviscerated the US scrum, and when the visitors could get their hands on the ball, they weren’t able to release the pressure.  

Ollie Blyth-Lafferty is a real prospect 

At 6ft 4 and 131kgs, the tighthead certainly has the size to go right to the top of the game. At this level, he’s certainly shown he’s got the technical ability as well. He was dominant at almost every scrum and, as the modern game dictates, is an adept carrier in the open expanses.  

In another country – see James O’Connor for the Wallabies, or Paoso Tuilagi for France – teenagers are thrown into the deep end with their national teams. Blyth-Lafferty should get some time with the senior Scotland set-up before too long to further his development.  

Shades of another Scotland fullback from Fergus Watson 

The fullback who came through the ranks at Biggar and is now part of the Glasgow Warriors academy set-up showed terrific footwork and a real turn of pace as he burst clear on two occasions. There’s a lot to like about his game, and there are shades of current senior Scotland fullback Harry Paterson about the way he plays.  

Finishing strongly 

With quarter of an hour to go, the visitors were still in the game – albeit behind on the scoreboard. But a stunning finish put an end to any American challenge as the home side scored three tries to put a gloss on the scoreline.  

McVie completed his hat-trick with two late scores while Kerr Yule also crossed as Scotland took full advantage of a tiring USA side. 

A huge step up awaits 

This tournament has represented the most successful period for Scotland U20 for a number of years, but it must be taken with a pinch of salt given the standard of opposition. If Scotland are to be competitive in next year’s U20 World Championship, a further dramatic improvement is required.  

Scotland: Fergus Watson, Finlay Doyle, Johnny Ventisei, Findlay Thomson (Yule 56), Geordie Gwynn, Andrew McLean (Hocking 50), Conor McAlpine (Patterson 66); Robbie Deans (White 58), Jerry Blyth-Lafferty (Stephen 69), Ollie Blyth-Lafferty (Shearer 71), Euan McVie, Ruaraidh Hart (Cockburn 52), Liam McConnell (c), Freddy Douglas (Duncan 64), Tom Currie  

Tries: McVie (9, 71, 75), Ventisei (27), Currie (37), Blyth-Lafferty (46, 65), Yule (78) 

Conversions: McLean (27), Hocking (66, 71, 75) 

USA: Corbin Smith, Jordan Vassel, Dominic Besag (cc), Max Threlkeld (Cline 52), Keelan Farrell, Rand Santos, Spencer Huntley (Williams 61); Asbjorn Lau Ross (Wagner 61), Caden Crist (cc) (Smith 50), Asa Rosenmeier (Schaefer 50), George Engels (Muller 40), Braemar Murray, Graeme Pedegana (Hahn 61), Daniel Lowther (Fortune 40), Logan Ballinger 

Try: Farrell (80) 

Conversion: Smith (80) 

Penalty: Smith (44) 

Referee: Katsuki Furuse (Japan)