It is almost 10.35pm when a towering Tom Burrow emerges from the away changing room in the bowels of Cardiff Arms Park. His pride must be as battered as his body after an unexpected 23-13 loss to Wales, which shattered hope of a Grand Slam.
“I don’t think many of us have experienced a defeat like that,” admits the captain of England Under-20s. “Their defence was excellent at times; our attack was poor. They attacked the breakdown and put us under pressure with the high ball. They outperformed us in a number of facets and that was the difference.”
Head coach Mark Mapletoft echoes that sentiment, describing the occasion as a “perfect storm”. “There were probably one or two things we got slightly wrong this week from a coaching perspective,” he admits with no excuses offered. “We became a bit predictable and they looked like they could bang us down all night long.”
Telegraph Sport was granted unprecedented access to the England U20 set-up over the past week, both in camp and on match day, to see the RFU’s pathway in action with a Grand Slam on the line.
Training
Tuesday March 11, Bisham Abbey
Standing in front of his players, Mapletoft has a concise message. “I wouldn’t want to be part of that Wales team wondering how to beat us,” he says. “We’re going to be all over them like a rash.”
One hour earlier, at around 9am, Mapletoft extended a warm welcome. At 53, after a significant career as a player and a coach, this is his third involvement in any sort of Grand Slam build-up. It is something he is impressing upon his charges: savour this rare experience. Perhaps driven by a narrow victory over Italy that was closer than most predicted, England are locked in.
When it comes to preparation in elite sport, presentation is nine tenths of the law and England have used superheroes to frame their Six Nations campaign. Scotland week, for instance, was themed “Civil War”, tapping into the 2016 Captain America film. A trip to Cardiff to seal a Grand Slam is related to the Avengers franchise. “Endgame: Whatever it takes” is the narrative for England’s fifth and final encounter against Wales.
Tuesday is the most intense training day of this decisive week, featuring game scenarios against Brunel University, who are twinned with Ealing Trailfinders academy. Before that, the theory.
On a large television, Wales’s line-out plays from their four fixtures so far are running on a loop. Each coded clip is labelled. As Wales peel to the openside, a big arrow identifies their blindside wing as they spear towards the seam of the defence. Drives, or “tanks”, are plentiful.
These packages are courtesy of analyst Tom Mitchell, who has designed and deployed posters outlining key tactical messaging around the adjoining meeting room. Interestingly, while the seniors have softened their “hammer” defensive system, England U20 have continued to blitz aggressively. Line-speed is termed as “the race north” and the aim is to make “dead-stops” behind the gain line.
England’s attack is characterised by the initialism “SAS”, standing for speed, attachment, space. One pitch map illustrates the framework of a 1-3-3-1 attacking formation, which shows forwards grouping themselves in pods among backs. Another lays out kicking strategies in different areas of the field: the team’s own 22 (named “the castle”), between the 22s (“the battle zone”) and the opposition 22 (the “kill zone”).
Players lead unit meetings. Tye Raymont, the Sale prop, previews Wales’s scrummaging tendencies in front of fellow front-rowers. Jack Kinder, the Leicester wing, and Exeter centre Nic Allison chair further discussions among backs. Criticism is fair yet constructive.
Former Newcastle fly-half Dave Walder, who joined as attack coach ahead of the tournament, is bouncy and asks frequent questions. Wales, he suggests, are likely to offer up “spark” – or kick-return – chances. “What are we going to do that Scotland didn’t against them?” The answer is that England want to play shorter passes rather than long ones that allow defenders to drift.
Shortly afterwards, Mapletoft highlights that Wales will have a different starting scrum-half, Sion Davies, this week. “What foot does he kick with?” asks Mapletoft. Silence. “His left,” Mapletoft answers. “This is vital information, guys.”
A meeting of the whole squad begins with the famous Ali G sketch where Sacha Baron Cohen struggles to keep character during a chaotic Welsh lesson. It may have first aired before the players were born, but most of the jokes land.
Wales’s attacking habits are listed by Angus Hall, the Saracens centre, with the help of more match action annotated by Mitchell. Nathan Catt, double-jobbing as scrum and defence guru, toughens the tone. He indulges in a “pre-mortem”, encouraging players to think for a second about how they might lose. He proposes tentativeness as a potential reason, which makes commitment to the hammer critical.
“We’re all in on the race north,” adds an impassioned Catt. “If we get broken, our scramble [defence] is f------ class. And I’m insulted by the suggestion that we have to match their intensity. We’re playing for a Grand Slam with our mates. They’re going to have to match our intensity.”
Then, to a backdrop of the Sam Tinnesz song Legends are Made, the England line-up is unveiled. Starters are termed “the wrecking crew”, with replacements called “thunderbolts”.
A slide at the end details the “brotherhood”; all the players to have represented or trained with England U20 this season. It is crowded, reinforcing how this group has been compromised by injuries to players like Ben Redshaw, Archie McParland, Lucas Friday and Vilikesa Sela as well as a senior call-up for Henry Pollock.
The training pitches are a short walk away and Ealing are already waiting. When the England players arrive, designated DJ Junior Kpoku syncs up his phone to some pitch-side speakers. Love Story by Taylor Swift blares out initially before the Racing 92 forward finds a more appropriate hype-up track by French rap group N’Seven7.
It is a moment that epitomises a chest-out attitude. “There are a lot of big characters here,” says skipper Burrow. “You either bottle that up or let them be themselves. If we can portray… not an aura, but a sense of confidence, there’s no harm in that.”
Training begins with a split; backs running their own drills as forwards concentrate on line-outs. Burrow is forthright when throwers skew their delivery or lifters miss a cue. “I might sound blunt and confrontational, but boys know it’s nothing personal,” adds the 19-year-old lock. Burrow trained with England A last November, and was impressed by how Joe Batley orchestrated line-outs. That, in itself, is evidence of the pathway working.
When the session opens into a 15-on-15 scrimmage refereed by forwards coach Andy Titterrell, England do not have it all their own way. Ealing spoil the breakdown and cause issues until Jack Bracken – son of World Cup winner Kyran – glides across the pitch for a superb solo try. “I kind of ran backwards and around my man, which isn’t something you usually get away with,” he admits.
Kepu Tuipulotu, one of the stars of the side tipped for big things, shunts over to finish a constructive hit-out. “That’s a perfect session,” says Burrow, addressing an England huddle. “They came out f------ full whack, like Wales will do on Friday, and gave us things to work on.”
Live scrums and mauls complete the on-pitch portion of the day, and Ealing shock the England pack at the first set-piece to force a penalty. A burly shove raises whoops from the rest of their squad, which quieten over the ensuing 15 minutes.
“Silence the crowd,” grins fly-half Josh Bellamy, who has walked over from kicking practice to be sure that his forwards are back in the ascendancy.
Walder is affable company over lunch, and not just because he reveals that you can ask for both sweet chilli chicken and chimichurri steak. He is pleased with how Ealing “flustered” England and has enjoyed this role because players must come together from different stages at their respective clubs. Many are out on loan in the second and third tiers, having to learn the calls of multiple teams.
Between lunch and a gym session, there is time to study drone footage of the scrums against Ealing, which has already been edited. Catt is amongst the players, explaining to Tubuna Maka, the Leicester tighthead, that he let Tuipulotu, his hooker, edge ahead of him prior to engagement.
Walking over from a short chat with coach developer and performance psychologist Michael Ashford, lock Olamide Sodeke is asked about a different topic: bum-slaps. “There are studies that say physical touch is good for morale within a team,” Sodeke laughs. “There’s science behind bum-slaps. They just reflect how close we are.”
Only occasionally are there prompts of how young these players are. During a nutrition clinic at 4pm, Tuipulotu is gently chastised for talking out of turn. Tuipulotu says sorry, and is promptly mocked by about 10 team-mates, mimicking his apology in high-pitched voices. Most of the time, the maturity is striking. Captain Burrow sums up the purposeful calm.
“We’re trying not to get hijacked by the past or the future and to stay in the present,” he says. “It’ll be the biggest game that a lot of us have played. I think it’s important to address it and take confidence from the work we’ve done already.”
Pre-match preparations
Friday March 14, Cardiff
Just over two hours before kick-off, on the corner St Mary Street and Penarth Road at the Clayton Hotel, fly-half Ben Coen sits alone at a desk and jots on a pad. Players deal with these moments differently. Kpoku bowls into the same room with a whoop and shakes everyone by the hand. Tuipulotu walks along the corridor outside, singing Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker.
At 5.40pm, ahead of a strict 5.55pm start, everyone files into a meeting room. Players perch around a semi-circle of chairs with staff standing behind them. Mapletoft is at the front, and cuts through the hush with an upbeat question. “Are you nervous?” he asks. “I am, and it’s f------ brilliant.”
Listing the scenarios through in which England have “found a way” this Six Nations, Mapletoft has three focuses for attack, including working to depth and rapid rucks, and three more for defence. “There are people in life who wish for things to happen,” he concludes. “We make it happen.”
By 6.08pm, the bus has been boarded. Bellamy takes the middle of the back seat. Walder and Titterrell occupy the front left. The journey is just 0.4 miles, but Friday traffic allows for a 10-minute window of peace. Only a gesture from a man outside a bar, which raises muffled laughter from those who clock it, disturbs the quiet.
Staff let the players off first when the vehicle pulls up. The bright, white, tight changing room under the South Stand, where snacks and drinks are spread out on tables, is the first port of call. More posters adorn the walls; “AC Power” urges ambitious and clinical attack. Squad members head out for a stroll across the artificial surface, with Sodeke walking through line-out movements, and back and out again. Coen and Bellamy are among the first to emerge in match kit. They jog a couple of lengths while passing a ball between themselves.
Six front-rowers in the squad stage some three-on-three scrummaging and a quick touch game begins the team warm-up. Forwards and backs then split, for set-piece drills and passing practice, respectively, before they assemble for one last run-through. Kpoku is the first back in the changing room. “Tonight’s the night,” he shouts. “Let’s get after them.”
Burrow, Allison and Coen all deliver brief sound bites. Meanwhile, physio Rowena Myrans helps apply Vaseline to players’ kneecaps and elbows to alleviate friction burns. Gaz Edwards, a soft tissue therapist who has been with the under-20s for 16 years, doles out Deep Heat with a cellophane glove.
Replacements are called out into the tunnel and Burrow has the final say, addressing a huddle of starters for 50 seconds. The significance of body height, discipline and depth are emphasised. “If we get hijacked, we’re back in and we keep going,” Burrow says. “Eighty f------ minutes of graft, that’s what we’re asking of each other.”
The match
Friday March 14, Cardiff Arms Park
As the match unfolds in front of 8,000 spectators, it is not so much a hijack as a slow strangle. Tuipulotu’s stunning offload to Ralph McEachran puts England 7-0 ahead, and a pair of Coen penalties open up a 13-3 advantage. But England fail to capitalise. There is a charming moment when Audrey James, mother of Kane, stands up as her son dives over the line: “Whoo, come on Kane! That’s my son!” she hollers. Officials promptly spy a knock-on, however.
Wales are inspired. Harri Wilde’s deft chip is gathered by a spearing Steffan Emanuel to level it just before the break. “We’d spoken the last two weeks about defending that chip kick,” Mapletoft says later. “We were just a bit deep, a bit switched-off.”
The half-time break is fascinating. Tuipulotu, in the midst of a fantastic tussle with opposite number Harry Thomas, repeats England’s “whatever it takes” mantra and gees up his team-mates.
After a minute or two for individuals to decompress, units split to be with their designated coaches. Titterrell demands persistence from the forwards. “You’re in a game,” he says. “Don’t get frustrated. Go to your happy place; that should be on the field.”
Dom Hanson, Coen and Burrow share a short conflab with Mapletoft before Coen and Angus Hall outline messages on attacking shape and defence. Again, the common thread is perseverance. “This is exactly why we’re here,” Burrow states after the room has emptied out to leave England’s on-field 15. “We talk about the brotherhood, and this is what makes it now. This is exactly what we need; to be in a scrap. And there’s no one I’d rather be with.”
England invite pressure immediately upon the resumption and Harry Rees-Weldon tumbles in for a superb try. “You could start to see that we’d become a little rattled and had to nip it in the bud,” Mapletoft explains. “But they scored early in the second half and from there it felt like panic mode.”
Wales summon the defensive steel of their victory over Ireland in round three and thoroughly deserve the result. Snapshots convey a sharp contrast of emotions at the final whistle and in the aftermath. Burrow sinks to his haunches as Yma O Hyd belts out of the stadium sound system.
Tom Bowen, the superb Wales full-back, bounces back down the tunnel in a multi-coloured pair of Speedos, having donated his shorts to a devoted fan. Despite a testy finale featuring two mass scuffles, players mingle happily outside the changing rooms.
Out of an acutely painful evening for England, there will be benefits. In one sense, the hard work starts now for the players and their coaches.
“Losing is tough and it’s not what you’re in elite sport for, but results at this level aren’t the be-all and end-all,” says Mapletoft. “What you find from these games is that players either step up or they don’t. They don’t become bad players overnight, but you get a more detailed marker, when you’re really under the pump, of what these players are going to deliver in that situation – and how we can help them become better.”
“It was probably the best crowd I have ever played in front of; properly loud, passionate,” Burrow explains. “I tried to relish it. Maybe I didn’t do a good enough job. But we want those challenges. That’s the only method of learning. I’m disappointed, annoyed… but when you look back at it, it’s a cool experience.”
Burrow will spend Saturday with family, celebrating the 50th birthday of his mother, Emma. His level-headed demeanour replicates his manner at various points over the preceding days despite the title, as well as the Grand Slam, slipping away with France defeating Scotland to lift the trophy 450 miles away in Paris.
Earlier on Friday, to little fanfare, it had been confirmed that Italy will stage the 2025 World Championship. June 29 is when England embark on their title defence against Scotland, a date already etched upon Burrow’s consciousness.
“We’re going to take 24 hours and let it hurt,” he says. “That’s important. How we respond is even more important. I want to get my hands on some silverware.”
Burrow’s cohort were not the first team to succumb to a Cardiff cauldron or let slip a big game. They will not be the last, either. And if any aspect of this week spurs them towards another Grand Slam opportunity at senior level, then England’s future will be better for it.
