SCOTLAND UNDER-20S No.8 Jonny Morris says his team are expecting their toughest game at the Junior World Trophy in Kenya when they take on Uruguay in their final pool match this afternoon, but he is confident that the squad are ready to go to dark places and come out fighting as they seek a win which will book their place in Sunday’s final.
It is imperative that the young Scots win both today’s match and the tournament denouement in order to book their place back in the top tier Junior World Championship next summer.
This is the first time Scotland have been excluded from the Championship – as punishment for finishing last in the 2019 tournament, which was the last time these age-grade competitions took place before three years of Covid enforced hibernation.
Scotland and Uruguay are both two from two in the Trophy, with Kenny Murray’s side topping pool A due to picking up four-try bonus points against Zimbabwe and the USA, while the South Americans were restricted to just three tries against the USA.
“I think we’ve learnt how to go to a dark place in games,” replied Morris, when asked how the team have developed during this African expedition.
“Looking back earlier in the season before this trip we did a royal marines camp and they told us to refer back to your darkest moment from training when you’re under pressure during a game. So, when you are at altitude, it is hot and you are cramping up you need to learn how to dig in, get around the team, stay together then that is a big learning for us.
“I think we have been really pleased with how our set-piece has gone,” he added. “Coming into the tournament we knew that it was going to be a strong point for us, and we have been really working at it for the last few months.
“We have really developed our maul, it has gone well, but we can’t rest on our laurels.
“I think this tournament has been a nice progression for us because each game has been a step up from the last one, so hopefully we can build into Uruguay and use our maul as a big threat.
“We expect Uruguay to be a very up-front team, I think they’ll be very physical – similar to us in that they see their set-piece is as their strong point, so that should be a good battle.
“Their maul defence is also a step up from what we faced from the USA, so we’ll really have to try and win that area of the game and focus on our structure.”
