INTERNATIONAL WATCH: Parton double helps England to victory

London Irish trio Tom Parton, Rory Brand and Joe Cokanasiga helped England Under-20s secure their third bonus-point win of the 2017 Six Nations with an eight-try 46-0 victory over Italy at the Northern Echo Arena.

Parton bagged himself a brace of tries, while Brand came off the bench to make his England debut to cap off a successful night for the Exiles fledglings.

The hosts led 17-0 at the break by virtue of tries from Jamie Blamire, Ben Curry and captain Zach Mercer coupled with the boot of Jacob Umaga.

Played out in tough conditions on a boggy surface in Darlington, England improved in the second period as Sam Aspland-Robinson, Josh Bayliss (2) and Parton (2) all crossed with Umaga kicking a conversion.

It means England have now scored 21 tries from their opening three games and next face Scotland at Franklin's Gardens, Northampton.

England coach Louis Deacon said: “We knew the set-piece is a huge asset for the Italians so it was really pleasing that we dominated in that area. It was important we kept the pace high in the game to make sure we didn’t give Italy any momentum and I thought we did that very well. 

“We made a lot of changes for this match and the fact the players were able to adapt and keep on top until the end is a huge credit to this group. With the weather the way it is, the support from crowd was outstanding and the guys fed off that this evening.”  

England U20: 15. Tom Parton (London Irish), 14. Sam Aspland-Robinson (Harlequins), 13. Dominic Morris (Saracens), 12. Max Wright (Yorkshire Carnegie), 11. Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins), 10. Jacob Umaga (Wasps), 9. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints), 1. Ollie Dawe (Bristol Rugby), 2. Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons), 3. Ciaran Knight (Gloucester Rugby), 4. Josh Caulfield (Exeter Chiefs), 5. Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), 6. Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby), 7. Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), 8. Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby - captain)

Replacements: 16. Henry Walker (Gloucester Rugby), 17. Alex Seville (Gloucester Rugby), 18. Marcus Street (Exeter Chiefs), 19. Max Davies (Newcastle Falcons), 20. Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors), 21. Rory Brand (London Irish), 22. Marcus Smith (Harlequins), 23. Joe Cokanasiga (London Irish).

Tries: Blamire, Curry, Mercer, Aspland-Robinson, Bayliss (2), Parton (2)
Conversions: Umaga (2), Smith
Penalties:

Italy U20: 15. Massimo Cioffi, 14. Andrea Bronzini, 13.Ludovico Vaccari, 12. Marco Zanon (captain), 11. Giovanni D'Onofrio, 10. Antonio Rizzi, 9. Charly Trussardi, 1. Daniele Rimpelli, 2. Massimo Ceciliani, 3. Giosue  Zilocchi, 4. Giordano Baldino, 5. Gabriele Venditti, 6. Jacopo Bianchi, 7. Lorenzo Masselli, 8. Giovanni Licata.

Replacements: 16. Alberto Rollero, 17. Danilo Fischetti, 18. Michele Mancini Parri, 19. Edoardo Iachizzi, 20. Nardo Casolari, 21. Emilio Fusco, 22. Michelangelo Biondelli, 23. Roberto Dal Zilio