Monday 2 June 2014 08:21, UK
England got their IRB Junior World Championship title defence off to a convincing start with a 63-3 victory over Italy, with Nathan Earle scoring a superb hat-trick.
England Under-20s, who beat Wales in last year’s final, never looked troubled against the Azzurri in Pukekohe, New Zealand.
And it was Saracens winger Earle who stole the show as he followed up his first-half try with two in the space of 70 seconds after the interval.
James Chisholm and Gus Jones crossed for two tries apiece, while George Catchpole dived over late on with Sam Olver slotting over 16 points with the boot. Billy Burns came off the bench to score a try and a conversion.
Wales also got off to an impressive start, beating Fiji 48-19 – with Dafydd Howells scoring the opening try after just seven seconds.
Wales were awarded two penalty tries, while James Benjamin (2) and Ben Roach also scored, with Angus O’Brien contributing 18 points.
Scotland, though, were comprehensively beaten 61-5 by South Africa in Auckland, while Ireland lost 19-13 to France.
