Capon and Boyland feature in England U18 defeat

Capon was named co-captain while Boyland appeared as a second-half substitute in Digne-les-Bains.

John Fletcher’s side trailed 17-5 at the break, with Baptiste Germain contributing 12 points via a try, two conversions and a drop goal, while Malcom Bertschy also scored for the hosts with Will Simonds crossing for John Fletcher's side midway through the half.

After the break, France scored through Florent Vanverberghe and Nathanaël Hulleu's break-away try to secure the win.

“I think the effort was strong,” said England U18 head coach, John Fletcher. “We found it difficult in the conditions to get people carrying pace with the ball.

“We had lots of the ball, but sometimes in those sorts of conditions it is easier to defend and force the opposition into a mistake. Overall, we are disappointed with the result, but we will get better.

"The biggest thing the players would have learned is to adapt to the conditions. The effort was there, but our skills broke down with the pressure they put us under."

The match was England U18s’ first match of their season with fixtures against Scotland on 18 March at Stirling County RFC (KO 12pm) and Wales on March 25th at Sardis Road, Pontypridd (KO 4.15pm) before the ‘Six Nations Festival’.

The festival based in Wales will see England U18s play Scotland at Ystrad Mynach (March 31st, KO 12pm), Italy at Cardiff Arms Park (April 4th, KO 12pm) and France at the same venue on April 8th (KO 5pm).