The Fijians ultimately paid a heavy price for card trouble, suffering three yellows and one red over the course of an exhausting 93 minutes of play.
Rugby in Scotland hit a new low on Tuesday when their promotion-chasing U20s team lost to Uruguay at the Junior World Trophy in Kenya.
England flew out of South Africa last Saturday evening to Heathrow as the rightful champions, the consistency of their potent scrum and manipulative defence helping them to a deserved first title since 2016.
We can’t sign off on Cape Town 2024, though, without properly reflecting on what the latest edition of the pinnacle international age-grade tournament all meant.
England flew out of South Africa last Saturday evening to Heathrow as the rightful champions, the consistency of their potent scrum and manipulative defence helping them to a deserved first title since 2016.
A green bottle of Castle Lite was suddenly the beverage of choice… and why not? England had just been crowned champions. “I've already necked two,” he chucked.
A high-scoring shootout is the expectation, although the forecasted rain could temper attacking ambition. Here are the RugbyPass talking points about an appetising all-northern hemisphere final in the heart of the southern hemisphere:
Four times he has flown south from France in the last 13 months, his involvement at the 2023 and 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship sandwiching the trips he made in December and April with La Rochelle in the Champions Cup.
Skipper Botturi, who led the team to two wins – including a victory away to France – in a fourth-place Six Nations finish, will now hope their ongoing inconsistency can be tackled.
Silverware is up for grabs in Edinburgh and Cape Town this week as the World Rugby U20 Championship and Trophy reach their conclusion.