14-man England breeze past Scotland in World Rugby U20 opener

England U20 opened their World Rugby U20 Championship title defence with a commanding 56–19 win over Scotland in sweltering conditions in Verona.

Mark Mapletoft’s side ran in eight tries despite playing the final 25 minutes with 14 men after flanker George Timmins received a straight red card for leading with the elbow in a ruck.

It came just minutes after the flanker had crossed for his side’s sixth try, capping an explosive first half in which England led 42–12 at the break.

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Scotland had started brightly and took the lead through scrum-half Noah Cowan following a strong set-piece platform. But England hit back almost immediately via a penalty try, and momentum quickly swung.

Jack Bracken grabbed a brace out wide, while Will Knight and Kane James added further scores from close range, and Josh Bellamy produced a classy solo try before setting up Ben Redshaw with a deft grubber in a dominant closing spell.

Kane James and Tom Burrow carried effectively throughout, and Ben Coen controlled proceedings from fly-half with authority. England’s bench added punch too, with substitute Archie McParland influential late on.

Scotland notched a consolation try through Hector Patterson, but were outmuscled as the game wore on. England now turn their focus to a Pool B decider against South Africa on Friday.