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EXCLUSIVE England are Tom, we’re Jerry - but sometimes Jerry wins...
we’re gunning for them and will snuff out their stardust, says Wales wonderkid SAM SCOTT PLUS: The hardest skill Sam Scott has had to learn on his journey to achieving his ultimate goal of a Lions cap Join more than 150,000 Mail+ subscribers to get exclusive access to the best Six Nations coverage throughout the tournament from our world-class team By ALEX BYWATER Published: 12:00, 13 March 2025 | Updated: 12:00, 13 March 2025 e-mail View comments Sam Scott is the giant Wales Under-20 prop learning his trade at Bristol under the guidance of England’s Ellis Genge. Scott seems to have adopted Genge’s straight-talking approach. On Friday, Wales will be hoping to derail England’s junior Six Nations Grand Slam bid in Cardiff with Scott, 19 and nearly 19 stone, in their ranks.
‘This game has been in the back of my mind all tournament – England last, at Cardiff Arms Park, a big crowd. There is no way our boys won’t show up,’ Scott told Mail Sport. ‘All the English boys are being bigged up, the likes of Junior Kpoku and Kepu Tuipulotu – they’ve got the stardust.
It’s a bit like Tom and Jerry. They’re Tom. We’re Jerry.
‘Sometimes, Jerry wins. I back our boys over the English boys. It’s a great opportunity for us to show we can get one over on them.
‘It’s our biggest rivalry. It was a tough game for me last year. It was my second cap.
I came on and Asher Opoku-Fordjour was my opposite number. I was young and fresh. Sam Scott and Wales will be hoping to topple the much-fancied England in their U20 clash Scott admitted he was dominated in the scrum last time round but is out for revenge now He faced the staunch challenge of taking on England senior player Asher Opoku-Fordjour ‘I got a thumping scrum wise.
I’m out for a bit of redemption. The boys will be up for it. We’re gunning for them.
Hopefully, we can upset England’s Grand Slam party.’ After claiming junior World Cup glory in South Africa in the summer, England’s next generation are looking for more success and a Six Nations clean sweep to follow up the title crown they won last year. That, in all likelihood, will be the outcome.
England look formidable. But with strong scrummager Scott in their ranks, Wales are aiming for a shock. Senior England international Genge described Scott, who is in his first full season with Bristol but is yet to represent the Bears, as a ‘legend’ and a ‘proper grounded young kid who knows the craic.
’ Scott has certainly shown his talent in the Under-20 Six Nations this year. He was player of the match in Wales’ backs-to-the-wall victory over Ireland and is highly rated as a potential future senior Welsh cap and a Bristol first-team regular. ‘Genge was one of my heroes growing up.
He’s aggressive, but he’s a good role model and such a good player. My first week training with him was surreal, Scott said. ‘I did see what he said about me.
I haven’t seen him for a while, but I’ll have to say thank you when I do. He’s great with all the young lads at Bristol and great with me when we’re doing scrummaging in training. He’s so helpful.
He never loses his head.’ Scott’s journey to this point has certainly been interesting. He’s ended up at Ashton Gate via a short stint with the now defunct Wasps after starting his rugby at Llantwit Fardre.
Bristol team-mate Ellis Genge called Scott 'a legend' and spoke glowingly of the youngster Wales U20s secured a backs-to-the-wall victory over Ireland at the end of last month ‘I just love the way Bristol play. I’m happy there,’ tighthead Scott said. ‘I’m in my first year there, so of course I’m still learning my trade.
I’ve been loaned out to Western Hornets in National Two. There’s something different about a man’s scrum! I’m learning a lot. They talk about the dark arts.
‘We played Cinderford and at 60 minutes, they brought a whole new front row on and all of them were 20 stone plus men! My calves were already in pieces! ‘I think I’ve held my own in my first senior year.’ England are in pursuit of what would be a first Under-20 Grand Slam since 2021. In outstanding hooker Tuipulotu and No 8 Kane James, they have two players who were born in Wales but have chosen to represent England.
Scott, by contrast, is Welsh through and through but has developed in the English system. He is a classic example of what the Welsh Rugby Union is now working so hard to avoid having been lured over the Severn Bridge to combine his education with rugby development. ‘I’d planned on staying in Cardiff and going to the local college – Coleg y Cymoedd,’ Scott said.
‘My mum wasn’t sure what I should do. My Llantwit coach told me Bristol and Wasps wanted me to go and look at their facilities and find somewhere to go to school too. ‘When I went to Wasps and City of Oxford College, it was down to earth.
I felt comfortable there. I jumped at it with both hands. It was a great opportunity for me to move out of home at 16 and develop.
Wasps lasted a month! Wales we be looking to deny rivals England a first Grand Slam at U20 level since 2021 Kepu Tuipulotu may have declared to represent England but he was in fact born in Wales ‘At the time, it was pretty stressful. I had all this outside noise telling me I had to come back to Wales. But I sat down with my mother and told her I was happy, I’d started my school, and I wanted to stick it out.
I’m glad I did. It was a bit of a risk, but it worked out in the end.’ Scott initially stayed in the Midlands, where he went to the same school as former England Under-20 and now England prop Opoku-Fordjour.
In April of last year, given Wasps no longer had a senior team to aim for given their sad fall out of existence, Scott signed a senior academy contract with Bristol. ‘I just thought the opportunity over the bridge was new and a lot more appealing to me. In Wales, it’s the same faces,’ Scott said.
‘I wanted to take myself out of my comfort zone and meet new people. I lived in Oxford with Wasps. Going up there, I was quite nervous.
But I’m a bit of an extrovert, so I don’t mind meeting new people and having a laugh. ‘I didn’t have my parents to rely on. It’s little things like having to get the bus to college that develop you as a person.
’ Scott was attracted to Bristol by their Welsh head of recruitment Gethin Watts. For a young player still making his way in the game, he is confident and talkative. Adam Jones, Alun Wyn Jones and Sam Warburton were Welsh inspirations to him.
Scott’s no-nonsense grandfather Dennis Jones, a policeman, doesn’t mince his words when providing feedback. Thankfully, with his grandson’s promise obvious, the majority of his analysis is positive. ‘Asher went to the same school as me in Oxford.
We’ve got a mutual connection because of that and we get on,’ Scott said. Sam Warburton (centre) and Alun Wyn Jones (rear left) were Scott's Welsh heroes (both pictured featuring for the Lions in 2013) Scott has his eyes firmly set on earning a Lions cap - especially now he has master the art of putting in his contact lenses ‘To see his progression has been awesome. It’s something I look up to.
This is my last year at Under-20 level. I want to push myself forward to be in the senior set-up both for Bristol and Wales. Short-term, I want to stay fit and get 20 Under-20 caps.
Friday will be my 15th. ‘Medium-term, I want to make a first senior Bristol appearance. Long-term, my end goal is to be a future Welsh international and British Lion.
That’s been my dream since I was little.’ Scott is set on his direction of travel. So far, there has only been one problem.
‘After last year’s Six Nations, I was told I had to get contact lenses,’ he said with a smile. ‘I remember in my time off last summer I was sat in Specsavers sweating and trying to learn how to put them in. It’s a hard skill to master – the hardest I’ve had to learn.
‘I wear them for games now. It’s changed my perspective!’ Wales Under-20: Tom Bowen; Harry Rees-Weldon, Osian Roberts, Steffan Emanuel, Aidan Boshoff; Harri Wilde, Sion Davies; Ioan Emanuel, Harry Thomas, Sam Scott, Kenzie Jenkins, Dan Gemine, Deian Gwynne, Harry Beddall (capt), Evan Minto Replacements: Evan Wood, Louie Trevett, Owain James, Luke Evans, Caio James, Carwyn Edwards, Ellis Price, Jack Woods England Under-20: George Pearson; Jack Bracken, Angus Hall, Nic Allison, Jack Kinder; Ben Coen, Dom Hanson; Ralph McEachran, Kepu Tuipulotu, Tye Raymont, Olamide Sodeke, Tom Burrow (capt), Junior Kpoku, George Timmins, Kane JamesReplacements: Louie Gulley, Oliver Scola, Tubuna Maka, Aiden Ainsworth-Cave, Connor Treacey, Joe Davis, Josh Bellamy, Nick Lilley Kick-off: 7.30pm, Friday.
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