Ex-Highland winger Henry: Scotland under-20s peaked at the wrong time in Six Nations
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Jacob Henry believes Scotland’s under-20s peaked just too late in their Six Nations campaign.
Scotland were one of just two countries to complete all five fixtures before rugby was shut down as part of the fight against coronavirus, losing three of those matches and winning two.
However, their best performance by far came in a 52–17 win in the last game against Wales.
There were encouraging signs of a recovery through the competition after suffering relegation from the top tier of the World Championships last year.
So Henry, who made his senior rugby debut playing for Highland two years ago, says it was a good campaign – even if it was frustrating that things did not click for the Scots until the very end.
“It was a really good set-up to be a part of,” the 19-year-old explained.
“After the under-20s got relegated from the World Championship there was a big emphasis on doing well.
“It was a good campaign in that we got better in every game.
“The results weren’t what we wanted, because in many of the games we were winning, but it slipped away from us.
“There were things we had to sort out, and it just came together a bit too late for us.
“The performance against Wales just showed what we were trying to do the whole time. It was just frustrating really that it took us until the last game to do it.”
Henry moved south shortly after his Highland bow, playing for Melrose’s Southern Knights in the newly-formed Super6 competition as a Fosroc Academy player.
It served as a middle ground between club and professional rugby, giving more players the chance to play at a higher level.
It was a chance for players like Henry to impress, but he is not taking his future for granted.
“The Super6 has been good for the youngsters like myself coming through, we’re getting thrown into a higher level of rugby,” Henry added.
“I’m just going to be carrying on with the academy, and seeing how under-20s goes and we’ll see what happens later down the line.”
