Under-18 Scots show progress in Leeds

SCOTLAND Under-18s came desperately close to achieving their first victory of the season yesterday at Clarence Fields against Leeds Academy but in the end, despite late pressure, the young Scots were unable to avoid a third defeat, by a narrow 15-13 margin, writes Alan Lorimer.

This was the Scots' final match before travelling to Wales later this week for their opening match of the Five Nations Festival against England on Friday and a chance for them to further acclimatise to the physical demands ahead .

"We fronted up well and matched Leeds physically," said Scotland team manager Euan Kennedy. "Overall it was a good performance and a pleasing recovery from our defeat against Wales last weekend.

"The game was played in windy conditions on an exposed pitch which made it difficult for both teams."

Against Leeds, whose side contained several 19-year-old players, Scotland were outscored by two tries to one, the Scots' touchdown coming from the Stewart's-Melville openside Ben Johnstone.

The other points came from Dollar Academy full-back Jamie Urquhart with two penalty goals and a conversion, but sadly Urquhart's final attempt at goal was off-target to deny the Scots victory.

As well as a match against their English counterparts, the eight-day Under-18s festival in Llandovery will also include fixtures with England, Italy and Ireland.