England U20 off to ideal start
Defending Under-20 World Cup champions England's coach Jon Callard was pleased with his side's performance in the opening round of the competition which saw them claim a bonus point victory.
England put in a dominant and composed first half performance to establish a 45-0 lead before eventually beating Japan 59-7 at the Stadio San Michele in Calvisano, Italy.
"I am pleased with that performance, we came out of the blocks and started really well. We were clinical with the opportunities that presented themselves to us.
"Second half we emptied the bench and Japan found momentum. To their credit, they were very good and stretched us on the edge with their attacking play. We are through the first game and will be all the better for the experience of dealing with the heat and conditions out here," Callard said.
In Pool B, Australia head coach Adrian Thompson was satisfied with his side's 34-22 bonus point victory over Samoa in their opening match of the competition.
Fullback Jonah Placid scored two tries to guide the young Aussies to victory but it was captain, Andrew Kellaway who sealed Samoa's fate with a try late in the match.
"We always knew it was going to be a difficult challenge to beat Samoa. They proved their quality at the Oceania Junior Championship last month and this was one of the games that caused us great concern.
"The line-outs and the breakdown needs improvement and we will be looking at this in the coming days before we take on Italy," Thompson said.
Kellaway is now the leading top try scorer at U20 level with 11 tries and is happy to have claimed the victory.
"It was a bit scrappy but all in all it was a good win. We'll go away and work on what we need to work on for the next game but we happy with the win. We really respected Samoa and certainly expected them to go the full 80," he said.
In the next round of matches, Australia face hosts Italy on Saturday while defending champions England will be up against Wales on the same day.
