England Students lost to France Universities 28-7 on the weekend.

Hartpury’s George Boulton scored the only England try following a number of attacking phases, with Leeds Beckett’s Will Cargill slotting home the conversion.

The French side led 13-7 at half time in Epernay after having the better of the opening 40 minutes as they dominated both the possession and territorial stakes.

England challenged their French opponents in a number of key areas, but despite a committed effort were left frustrated by handling errors and an inconsistent set-piece.

Joe Dancer (UWE), Captain Freddie Clarke (Bath) and Boulton stood out for England, and Sam Rodman (Leeds Beckett) and Buchan Richardson (Durham) made positive impacts from the bench.

“We were unable to maintain pressure for any period of time,” said Assistant Coach Ian Davies. “The French didn’t do anything fancy but our errors and general lack of accuracy enabled them to have control for large periods of the game.”

Head Coach Aaron James said, “We will be focusing on the accuracy of our skills to improve our performance on the pitch.”

Eight players were awarded their first cap for the match.

England Students will face Wales Academicals next on the 6th of May.

Squad selected to play France Universities:

Lewis Anderson, Oxford
Mike Flook, Hartpury
Paul Davis, Exeter University
Nick Gardner, Oxford
Sam Rodman, Leeds Beckett
Alex Westgarth, Northumbria
Ed Holmes, Plymouth University
Sam Brady, Leeds Beckett
Jamie Bache, Durham
Buchan Richardson, Durham
Joe Dancer, UWE
Sebastain Nagle-Taylor, University College London
Freddie Clarke, Bath University
Tom Banks, Newcastle University
Rob Coote, Exeter University
Josh Sharp, Loughborough
Will Cargill, Leeds Beckett
Alex O’Meara, Hartpury
George Boulton, Hartpury
Lewis Jones, Leeds Beckett
Alex Wilcockson, Exeter
Jack Rossiter, St Mary’s University
Alex Brown, Hartpury