England Rugby League

England Academy

England Academy triumph in France

French Under-18s 16 England Academy 40

England Academy beat the France under-18 side 40-16 at the Stade Max Rousie, Villeneuve-sur-Lot in the south of France yesterday. 

The England side ran in eight tries with Iain Thornley, a centre from Wigan Warriors, grabbing two and Bradford Bulls half-back Cain Southernwood notching up 10 points with a try and three conversions.
England got off to an excellent start with Wigan winger Ryan King touching down after just two minutes thanks to an excellent offload from skipper Tom Makinson of St Helens.

Full-back Matthew Russell, of Wigan Warriors, then collected a short kick from Southernwood for another before Jack Murphy, also from Wigan, beat three defenders for a third touchdown which he also converted. Murphy then turned try maker, putting Southernwood over with the stand-off’s conversion making it 20-0.

The French finally stirred themselves and hit back when Thibault Margalet barged over with Lilian Albert adding the conversion. The home side continued to pile on the pressure but the English defence held firm and just before half-time they increased their lead when Thornley latched onto a high kick from Southernwood.

France began the second half in determined mood and early pressure produced a try for Eloi Pelicier but the visitors responded immediately through Castleford Tigers hooker Adam Milner with Southernwood converting his try.

England wrapped up the game when Thornley grabbed his second touchdown following another weaving run and although Clement Soubeyras scored for France with Albert converting once again but England had the final say when Mathew Russell crossed just before the final whistle and Southernwood again added the extras.

James Laithwaite, the Warrington Wolves loose forward, took the man of the match award and Head Coach Dave Elliott declared himself happy with the team’s performance.
“The players prepared really well and the final result was a reflection of their effort and preparation. It was a great game with a number of high quality individual performances,” he said.

Teams:
England Academy: Matthew Russell (Wigan Warriors); Ryan King (Wigan Warriors), Tom Makinson (capt, St Helens), Iain Thornley (Wigan Warriors), Jack Murphy (Wigan Warriors);  Cain Southernwood (Bradford Bulls), Sam Powell (Wigan Warriors); George Burgess (Bradford Bulls), Adam Milner (Castleford Tigers), Carl Forster (St Helens) Danny Bridge(Wigan Warriors), Jared Stewart (Leeds Rhinos), James Laithwaite (Warrington Wolves). Interchange Adam O`Brien (Bradford Bulls), Ryan Shaw (Warrington Wolves), Brad Singleton (Leeds Rhinos), Greg Burke (Wigan Warriors)

French Federation Under-18s: Clement Soubeyras (Carpentras); Joseph Negre (UTC), Damien Cardace (Lezignan), Remi Vignau,  (Toulouse),Guillaume Martinez (UTC); Lilian Albert, (Villeneuve-sur-Lot), Morgan Escare  (UTC); Julian Bousquet (Lezignan), Eloi Pelicier (capt, UTC),  Nicolas Houbloup (Corbeil), Hugo Langlois, (Carpentras), Marc Meye (Pia), Thibault Margalet (UTC). Interchange Andrew Bigat (Lezignan), Theo Gonzalez-Triquen (Toulouse), Noel Andreucetti  (Carpentras),  Julien Lafitte (UTC)