SCOTLAND BEAT ENGLAND IN U21 MATCH
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Scotland beat England by 19-17 in the under-21 international at Northampton this evening. It was only the second time the Scots have defeated the Auld Enemy at this level, and both wins, incredibly, have been away from home.

Ben Addison scored Scotland's only try. David Blair kicked a conversion and four penalty goals.

Jeffrey's joy as young Scots score historic first in England

DAVID FERGUSON

IN AN incredibly pulsating match at Northampton last night, Scotland’s young guns created history by recording the first-ever win over England in the Under-21 Six Nations.

The Scots, whose third-place finish is a best ever, started superbly and scored after just ten minutes but went in at the break a point behind. They roared back in front in the second half, but after a ding-dong battle, Scotland were forced to hang on against a final onslaught to claim victory. John Jeffrey, the Scotland Under-21 manager said: "That was absolutely top drawer. It was not great for the heart, but the boys have just made us so proud that I’m going to blow the whole under-21 budget on champagne for them tonight!

"Three wins in the championship has never been done before so they deserve their place in history. They showed a tremendous amount of guts out there, with unbelievable defence at times, and there is a real backbone in these players, and a bit of attitude as well. They want to improve, and are not happy just to play for Scotland, but want to win. They went out tonight determined to put pride and respect back into the under-21s jersey and they did that."

The English players, who had ‘MH’ on their jerseys, to pay respect to Leicester hooker Matt Hampson after his serious neck injury earlier this week, met their match in the Scots, whose physical presence, typified by powerful Borders hooker Ross Ford, ensured an excellent contest in the set-piece and breakdown areas.

Ben Addison, the Stirling County wing, finished a superb attack from the visitors with just ten minutes played. AJ Macfarlane created the opportunity with a fine kick, Garry Law, the Hawick centre, kicked on and Addison won the race to the touch down. David Blair converted. Ben Foden replied for England and then two Toby Flood penalties to one from David Blair gave a half-time lead of 11-10 to the hosts. In a frenetic second half, Blair and Flood converted two penalties each as the game neared its dramatic conclusion. Scotland played the trump card with a driven lineout to the home 22, which brought a penalty and Blair stroked home the winning points.

Scotland watched in delight as a last-gasp drop-goal attempt from Flood flew wide.

Scorers: Scotland U21: Try: Addison; Pens: Blair 4; Cons: Blair. England U21: Try: Foden; Pens: Flood 4.

Scotland U21s: A Nash; B Addison, N De Luca, G Law, S Manning; D Blair, A McFarlane; S Corsar, R Ford, W Blacklock, I Nimmo, S Tomes, C White, S Forrest, N Cochrane (captain). Subs: D Flockhart for Nash 43 mins, J Beattie for Tomes 53, B Di Rollo for Manning 68, S Fenwick for Corsar 72, M Halsall for Thompson 80.

This article was originally posted on 18-Mar-2005, 22:25 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 19-Mar-2005, 08:57.