France U20 v Scotland U20, Stade Jean Bouin, Paris

France U20 (33) 45

Tries: Daunivucu, Akrab, Tilloles, Cowie, Echegaray 2, Cotarmanac'h Cons: Cotarmanac'h 5

Scotland U20 (22) 40

Tries: Brown, Watson, Blyth-Laffery, Van Wyk, Douglas Cons: Urwin 2, Brown Pens: Urwin Drop: Urwin

Player of the Match: John Echegaray

France secured the U20 Six Nations title thanks to an incredible win by Wales over England.

The outcome of the Championship was not decided solely at Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris but also in Cardiff, where England—the reigning champions and current world champions—had everything in their hands to complete a Grand Slam. France simply had to win and hope for an English defeat. That’s exactly what happened, as Wales produced a remarkable upset in Cardiff with a scoreline that no one had predicted.

Early drama in Paris

Fans had no time to settle at Jean-Bouin, as the first try came after just 48 seconds. After regathering an errant Scottish lineout, Jon Echegaray broke through the defence before offloading to Xan Mousques, who fed his Basque teammate back inside before ultimately setting up Simeli Daunivucu to score under the posts.

While France had an early 7-0 lead, Wales were simultaneously levelling the score against England (13-13, 38’) at the Principality Stadium.

Scotland quickly responded with a try from Jack Brown down the left wing (7-7, 6’). The try was awarded despite an earlier dangerous tackle spotted by Antoine Chalus-Cercy, who received a yellow card on his U20 debut.

France stay in control

Les Bleuets remained composed and showed no signs of weakness. A dominant scrum, a well-executed lineout move, and a powerful forward drive led to a try from hooker Lyam Akrab, who also became the tournament’s top try-scorer (14-7, 12’). With six tries to his name, he had previously shared the record with Alex Kendellen (Ireland, 2021), Arthur Relton (England, 2021), and Joe Marchant (England, 2015). By crossing for his seventh try, Akrab set a new record dating back to 2012.

As Chalus-Cercy returned from the sin bin, Scotland closed the gap with a Matthew Urwin penalty (14-10, 17’). However, France quickly extended their lead as Akrab orchestrated another powerful driving maul, allowing Baptiste Tilloles to touch down (19-10, 19’). Three minutes later, centre Oliver Cowie, displaying remarkable strength to stay on his feet under defensive pressure, secured the bonus point try (26-10, 22’).

Meanwhile in Cardiff, Wales took a shock lead over England just after half-time (20-13), meaning that, at that moment, France were in pole position to win the U20 Six Nations title.

Scotland fight back

Scotland refused to back down, responding with a try from Fergus Watson (26-15, 26’). But just after the half-hour mark, Jon Echegaray sliced through the defence to score (33-15, 33’). However, Scotland remained in contention, as Ollie Blyth-Lafferty struck back just before the break (33-22, 36’).

As England found themselves trailing by 10 points with ten minutes remaining in Cardiff (23-13), Scotland opted to take the points when opportunities arose, narrowing the gap (33-25, 42’). France’s Basque connection—Echegaray and Mousques—linked up once again, with Mousques scoring another try, although the conversion attempt exceeded the time limit (38-25, 45’).

Nervous finish

Spurred on by the possibility of securing a historic first-ever U20 win in France, Scotland cut the deficit further through a stunningly precise finish from Cameron van Wyk (38-30, 53’). At the same moment, the final whistle blew in Cardiff—Wales had beaten England 23-13, ensuring that France would be crowned champions if they could hold on.

News of England’s defeat filtered through to the French squad, but they still had a game to finish. Jean Cotarmanac'h converted his own try (45-30, 58’). Scotland, however, threw everything at them, competing fiercely at the breakdown and trying to disrupt the celebrations.

With ten minutes to play, France had conceded 14 penalties to Scotland’s six—a clear weak point. The Scots slowed the game down at every opportunity, treating every minor knock with care to break the rhythm of the match.

Scotland’s powerful second-row Freddy Douglas—already called up to the senior squad—powered through four defenders to score in the corner, setting up a dramatic final five minutes (45-37, 74’).

France hold on

Roared on by the Jean-Bouin crowd and led by the tireless Antoine Deliance, who contested every loose ball, France managed to withstand one final Scottish drop-goal attempt before sealing a thrilling 45-40 victory.

France were champions, but they had Wales to thank for delivering a night of drama that no one would soon forget.

REACTION

Captain Antoine Deliance: "It's a very emotional moment. We're really happy with the incredible crowd in Paris. We tried to stay focused and be more disciplined than last week in Ireland, even though we still made a lot of mistakes. The coaches gave us a lot of instructions, which helped us manage the game, even if we panicked a bit at the end."

Fly-half Jean Cotarmanac'h: "Last year was a bit tough—we lost at home to Béziers, and that really hurt. Now, it's amazing to be able to give this to our supporters. They showed up in large numbers. Winning the title is fantastic, even though it wasn't our main objective. The first goal was to win the match, and the circumstances worked out for us."

France U20: 15. Jon Echegaray (Union Bordeaux-Bègles), 14. Nolann Donguy (Racing 92), 13. Oliver Cowie (RC Toulon), 12. Simeli Daunivucu (Stade Rochelais), 11. Xan Mousques (Aviron Bayonnais), 10. Jean Cotarmanac’h (RC Vannes), 9. Baptiste Tilloles (Aviron Bayonnais), 1. Samuel Jean-Christophe (RC Toulon), 2. Lyam Akrab (Montpellier HR), 3. Mohamed Megherbi (Stade Toulousain), 4. Charles Kante Samba (Stade Rochelais), 5. Jacques Nguimbous (Union Bordeaux-Bègles), 6. Antoine Deliance (Lyon OU) (c), 7. Noa Traversier (Aviron Bayonnais), 8. Antoine Chalus-Cercy (ASM Clermont Auvergne)

Replacements: 16. Quentin Algay (CA Brive), 17. Lorencio Boyer Gallardo (USA Perpignan), 18. Jean-Yves Liufau (ASM Clermont Auvergne), 19. Corentin Mézou (RC Toulon), 20. Mathis Baret (FC Grenoble), 21. Simon Daroque (Stade Toulousain), 22. Ugo Pacome (Colomiers Rugby)

Scotland U20: 15. Jack Brown (Edinburgh Rugby), 14. Nairn Moncrieff (Edinburgh Rugby), 13. Angus Hunter (Heriot’s Rugby), 12. Kerr Yule (Glasgow Warriors), 11. Fergus Watson (Glasgow Warriors), 10. Matthew Urwin (Glasgow Warriors), 9. Noah Cowan (Brunel University/Ealing Trailfinders), 1. Oliver McKenna (Glasgow Warriors), 2. Seb Stephen (Edinburgh Academical FC), 3. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty (Edinburgh Rugby), 4. Bart Godsell (Loughborough University), 5. Dan Halkon (Glasgow Warriors), 6. Oliver Duncan (Edinburgh Rugby), 7. Freddy Douglas (Edinburgh Rugby) (c), 8. Reuben Logan (Northampton Saints)

Replacements: 16. Joe Roberts (Glasgow Warriors), 17. Jake Shearer (Glasgow Warriors), 18. Jamie Stewart (Edinburgh Rugby), 19. Charlie Moss (Montpellier), 20. Mark Fyffe (University of Edinburgh), 21. Hamish MacArthur (Edinburgh Rugby), 22. Ross Wolfenden (Edinburgh Rugby), 23. Cameron van Wyk (Ayr RFC).