England and France will duke it out in the Under 20 Championship Final on Sunday the 17th of June.
The 2018 Under 20 Championship will come to a close this Sunday with England and tournament hosts France going head-to-head in the final. Both teams have enjoyed stellar tournaments but who will reign supreme?
England v France
Sunday 17 June
Stade De La Mediterranee
19:00
To Win (80 Mins)
England 27/20
Draw 20/1
France 6/10
Handicap
England (+3.5) 17/20
France (-3.5) 17/20
England
For the sixth year running the English find themselves in the Under 20 Championship Final. The Junior Roses consistency is amazing and they once again delivered solid performance after performance as they topped a pool featuring Scotland, Italy and Argentina.
Having topped their pool the young Poms booked a semi-final date with the South Africans. And while they did ship a plethora of points during the second stanza, an immaculate first-half showing ensured they would run out 32-31 victors and set up a date with the French in the final.
France
Baby Bleu was the side I tipped as the dark horse for the tournament and boy have they delivered on home soil. After a bit of a wobbly start – the French edged Ireland by two points on the opening day – the hosts have gone from strength to strength hammering South Africa in the pool phase and beating New Zealand 16-7 in the semis.
This will be France’s first appearance in an Under 20 Championship Final and they will want to make it a winning one. They head into the game as slight favourites with the ‘books but they will need their forward pack to front up to the English if they are to deliver on the tag.
Verdict: France 6/10
These two sides met in the Six Nations earlier in the year. The fixture saw the French run out 22-6 victors. And while I think they’ll take the honours again, I cannot say with any certainty how much it will be by. As such, I’m going to go the conservative route and back them on the board.
Written by Darry Worthington for Hollywoodbets.
