Carl Hogg calls on Scotland U20s to play with bravery and pace

Scotland Under-20 coach Carl Hogg has exhorted his side to play with their chests out tomorrow in Pau as the juniors go in search of their first win of the tournament in the third round of matches.

Scotland will have to contain Racing 92's powerful forward Jordan Joseph in Friday's U20 international. Picture: AFP/Getty Images

It’s a daunting task as ever against France, who won the World Championship at this level last season. Several of that team are still available while two of them – stand-off Romain Ntamack and prop Demba Bamba – are already turning out for the full French XV and will face Scotland in Paris on Saturday. Promotion comes quickly in the modern game.

“The first couple of weeks have been disappointing,” conceded Hogg at yesterday’s team announcement. “We know we haven’t reached the heights that we can achieve as a group and the beauty of France is that it is a great place to go and play rugby.

“I’ve said to the players that we’ve got to be brave, we’ve got to go right from the off and have the mentality that we are going there to win the game. We don’t want to sit back and get stuck in some arm-wrestle. We know that if we can get the speed of the game high and get to multi-phase then we can really stress a big, strong, heavy French side. But we’ve got to make sure that we play the game on our terms.”

Scotland U20 international Ross Bundy. Picture: SNS

“The great thing about the opportunity on Friday night is that it is something different and unique. You have to go out there and get your chest out. When you arrive in France, it is a different atmosphere than you get in the UK, a different vibe in the ground. It can be pretty hostile if you let it be. But our group is really looking forward to getting their chest out and really being bold and brave, especially in that first 20 minutes when we’ll put a marker down in terms of the pace we want to play the game at. It is the pace I want us to play the game at that is key. I want us to really challenge ourselves to play at high-tempo, high-speed, and put the French side under stress.”

Gregor Townsend may have abandoned his plan to play the “fastest rugby on the planet” but the juniors seem determined to carry that candle. Scotland want to play at pace but France, with a powerful pack, may not want oblige their guests.

One of the big French forwards in particular looks like he has the all-round game to go a long way. Jordan Joseph is an 18-year-old, 18-stone 
No 8 who was part of that World Championship-winning side last season and has already turned out for Racing 92 on, yes, eight occasions in this his debut season, and has one try to his name.

The breakaway will take some stopping and is a sure thing to play a starring role at the 2023 World Cup in France. Watch this space.

Hogg has shuffled his pack to face this threat. Stirling County’s Ross Bundy comes in at eight with Kwagga van Niekerk unavailable this weekend. Charlie Jupp continues at six with skipper Conor Boyle in his favoured No 7 jersey.

Sam Grahamslaw remains sidelined with a back injury so the props who did well against Ireland, Murphy Walker and Euan McLaren, get another chance and they will need to be at their best. London Scottish full-back Matt Davidson comes into the side. In the backs another County player is fasttracked into the starting XV. Grant Hughes is a Kiwi style second five-eighth, a second receiver at inside centre who, according to his coach, will help carry the decision-making burden and some.

“That was part of the thought process behind Grant Hughes’ selection,” says Hogg, “just taking some of that decision-making responsibility off [half-backs] Ross [Thompson] and Roan [Frostwick]. I’m sure after a couple of weeks playing at that level they will be coming up to speed, and I’m looking forward to seeing them play on Friday night.

“We’re setting the team up to play fast, but there is still a responsibility to play in a responsible way if we lose momentum or are stuck in the back end of the field. They are very stereotypically French where there is lots of off-loads, they want to play fast, but also want to take the pace out of the game at times with long stoppages so their big 125-kilo forwards can have a breather. So that gives us a huge opportunity if we can get pace into the game to stress them.”