Borderers Hector Patterson and Dylan Cockburn help Scots to World Rugby U20 Trophy final win

Scotland captain Liam McConnell lifting the World Rugby U20 Trophy after his side beat the USA 48-10 in this year's final at Edinburgh's Hive Stadium yesterday (Photo: Ross Parker/SNS Group/World Rugby)Scotland captain Liam McConnell lifting the World Rugby U20 Trophy after his side beat the USA 48-10 in this year's final at Edinburgh's Hive Stadium yesterday (Photo: Ross Parker/SNS Group/World Rugby)
Scotland captain Liam McConnell lifting the World Rugby U20 Trophy after his side beat the USA 48-10 in this year's final at Edinburgh's Hive Stadium yesterday (Photo: Ross Parker/SNS Group/World Rugby)
Borderers Hector Patterson and Dylan Cockburn last night helped return Scotland to international rugby’s top table for their age grade by winning this year’s World Rugby U20 Trophy.

Denholm’s Patterson, 19, and Melrose’s Cockburn, 18, were both brought off the bench as head coach Kenny Murray’s side, captained by blindside flanker Liam McConnell, got the better of the USA by 48-10 at Edinburgh’s Hive Stadium to secure promotion to 2025’s World Rugby U20 Championship after six years away.

The young Scots were relegated from the championship in 2019 after finishing bottom of its 12-team table at that year’s tournament in Argentina, and it was then put on hold for three years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Hopes were high that they’d make it back up at last year’s trophy in Kenya but a squad featuring six Borderers – Patterson, Hawick’s Corey Tait, Selkirk’s Matt Reid and Melrose’s Rudi Brown, Sam Derrick and Finn Douglas – ended up third after losing one of three pool games, to Uruguay, following victories over the USA and Zimbabwe.

Scrum-half Patterson, brought on as a 67th-minute replacement for Conor McAlpine in the final to join lock Cockburn, fielded as a substitute for Ruaraidh Hart quarter of an hour earlier, and their fellow squad members didn’t fluff their lines this time round, however, winning all three of their pool games at the Hive – by a record 123-15 against Samoa on Tuesday, July 2; 101-0 versus Hong Kong China on Sunday, July 7; and 46-10 against Japan on Friday, July 12 – en route to the final.

Edinburgh academy player Patterson was an ever-present at 2024’s tournament, coming on as a 67th-minute replacement for McAlpine versus the Japanese, playing the first 53 minutes against Hong Kong China and scoring one of the Scots’ 15 tries and taking over from McAlpine on 52 minutes in their opener.

Cockburn featured in all but one match, their first, playing for all 80 minutes against Hong Kong China and taking over from No 8 Tom Currie on 68 minutes versus Japan.

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Lock Euan McVie got a hat-trick of tries in the final, with hooker Jerry Blyth-Lafferty adding a double and outside centre Johnny Ventisei, Currie and replacement inside centre Kerr Yule also touching down and replacement fly-half Jack Hocking kicking three conversions and the No 10 he took over from, Andrew McLean, one.

Winger Keelan Farrell scored the Americans’ consolation try, with full-back Corbin Smith adding a conversion and penalty.

Murray, 50, is delighted to see Scotland’s under-20s back in the big time, saying: “I’m very proud of the players.

“It’s been four games in 15 days and it’s been tough. It takes it out of the boys but I think we managed the squad well and I’m really proud of the performance over the last four games.

“We scored over 300 points and conceded 32 and we couldn’t ask for any more than that from the boys.”

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