Twenty-eight tries and 194 points were scored in the third round of the U20 Six Nations which brought wins for Championship leaders England and their nearest rivals in the table, Ireland and Wales.

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England managed eight tries in a 46-0 victory against Italy in the mud at the Northern Echo Arena in Darlington, the first three coming through the forwards as the home side kept it tight in difficult conditions.

Hooker Jamie Blamire was first to cross on 18 minutes before the tireless Ben Curry and captain and talisman Zach Mercer joined him on the scoresheet. Jacob Umaga was only able to land one of the conversions.

England had the bonus point shortly after the restart with Sam Aspland-Robinson flying down the right wing to collect Alex Mitchell’s clever grubber kick through the Italy defence and touch down.

Mercer then set up fellow back-rower Josh Bayliss for the first of his two tries with a strong run down the flank, with his second coming not long after from a rolling maul.

The scoring spree continued as Tom Parton rounded things off with a try double inside the final quarter.

"It was a great effort from the lads, especially in these conditions, the forwards really fronted up and we showed good physicality," said Curry. "The conditions were tough but the fact we were able to adapt to them shows our adaptability and versatility."

WALES RUN RIOT 

Defending champions Wales came out on top 65-34 in a 14-try extravaganza against Scotland at the Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld.

Tries from backs Cam Lewis, Corey Baldwin and Kieran Williams – all converted by Ben Jones, who also kicked two penalties – saw Wales race into a 27-0 lead.

Scotland managed to get a foothold in the match just before half-time, though, when they responded with two tries of their own through forwards Fraser Renwick and Tom Dodd, the second converted by Josh Henderson.

Having been hit with those two ties in three minutes at the end of the first half, Wales came out of the blocks quickly at the start of the second period and it took less than two minutes for the outstanding Rhys Williams to collect Dane Blocker’s box kick to score their next points after the ball took a wicked bounce.

Jones kicked his third penalty to extend Wales’ lead to 37-12 but Scotland refused to lie down and their efforts were rewarded when captain and second-row Callum Hunter-Hill dotted down on 46 minutes.

The frenetic nature of the match continued with Welsh prop Rhys Carre and Scotland replacement Andrew Simmers exchanging tries. Kieran Williams then grabbed his second and with Jones converting Wales were past the 50-point mark for the first time at this level.

Debutant James Botham got in on the act before Scotland replacement Robbie Nairn scored twice either side of an effort from Wales’ Morgan Morris.

Jones converted all eight of Wales’ tries and was successful with three of his four penalty attempts  for a personal haul of 25 points.

IRELAND SURVIVE FRENCH FIGHTBACK

Ireland and France had to settle for three tries apiece at Donnybrook in Dublin as the home side ran out 27-22 winners.

Nigel Carolan’s side stormed into a 21-3 lead on the back of three converted tries from Tommy O'Brien, Tadhg McElroy and Oisin Dowling but they had to withstand a fierce France fight-back to keep their Grand Slam bid on track.

Les Bleuets stemmed the flow of points just before the break when dangerous winger Faraj Fartass crossed following a sizzling break from scrum-half Arthur Retiere. With Romain Ntamack converting to add to his earlier penalty, France trailed 21-10 at the break.

Billy Johnston, responsible for all three conversions in the first half, kicked the first points of the second period to put Ireland two scores ahead. But the match was in the balance once again, at 24-22, when France scored two tries in a 10-minute spell just past the hour mark. Fartass finished off a fine sweeping move for the first before France were awarded a penalty try.

Ireland regained the initiative and, to the delight of the 4,563-strong crowd, Johnston sealed victory when France were penalised while under pressure near their own try-line and the fly-half made it five from five off the tee.