England save best for last with crushing win
CAMERON Redpath set his sights on trying to help England be crowned world junior champions after ensuring the team finished a frustrating Six Nations on a high.
The Sale Sharks centre showed his class and potential with one of the seven tries which put out any fire wooden spooners Scotland had left in their bellies at Franklin’s Gardens.
Victory meant England finished with three wins from their five games and in third place in the table behind Grand Slam winners Ireland and France.
Despite the failure to lift the title, England can take plenty of positives from the way they ended the tournament with Redpath, along with Gloucester flanker Aaron Hinkley, Bath fullback Tom de Glanville and Worcester centre Ollie Laurence impressing in this eventual crushing win.
Redpath, son of former Scotland scrum-half Bryan, was born in France and is qualified to play for all three countries and must still decide which country he chooses to represent at senior level.
England will be keen for the talented 19-year-old to continue wanting to wear the red rose with Redpath poised to play a major role in Argentina in June.
Redpath, watched by dad in the crowd, insisted: “I am eligible for three countries but I am not thinking too far ahead. I will worry about that some time in the future and do what I feel is best. Right now I am just focusing on my rugby.
“I had an injury at the start of the season and I’ve just been getting my head down to try and get myself fit and playing as well as possible.
“The World Championship is coming up this summer which is an exciting prospect for all the guys. We want to go to Argentina and give it our best shot to win the trophy.
“We have a real depth in talent from the whole of England. Competition for every place is going to be fierce until the final squad is announced and we have to keep fighting and trying to get better as individuals and as a team.”
Apart from conceding an early converted try when Redpath’s pass was intercepted by centre Cameron Anderson who ran 60 yards for a try converted by Ross Thompson, stronger and fitter England dominated this contest throughout.
Flanker Tom Willis’s try on the stroke of half-time was a sign of things to come after the break when England’s superiority in every aspect of the game became evident.
A one-sided second half
saw the outstanding Hinkley race over for a try. He was followed by Redpath, Exeter prop Alfie Petch and Wasps hooker Alfie Barbeary who grabbed a try on his debut.
Head coach Steve Bates said: “We’re making good progress but are certainly not the finished article by any stretch.
“We were much more creative, kept the ball for longer and looked more dangerous than we have previously in the competition. But we shouldn’t get carried away with the scoreline because we certainly haven’t cracked it.”
Scotland captain Conor Boyle admitted: “We were in the game at half-time but our set-piece let us down and we made too many handling errors.”