Nutley backing England to bounce back against Springboks

Northampton Saints flanker and former Luton Rugby starlet Nutley came on after 42 minutes of the Red Rose youngsters’ 28-15 defeat to the Baby Boks in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The defeat ended England’s IRB Junior World Championship hopes as they fell before the semi-final stage for the first time since the competition’s inception in 2008.

England’s senior side also suffered disappointment in South Africa recently, losing the first Test in Durban last Saturday.

They get the chance to take their revenge in Johannesburg this weekend and Nutley will be watching on in the hope Stuart Lancaster’s men manage to slay the Springboks.

“We’ve all got televisions so whenever the game’s on we all go down and watch it,” he said.

“We’re rooting for the boys because they’re down here as well. Hopefully at one point we’ll be able to beat the South Africans.”

Nutley has only started one game for the U20 side in South Africa, playing in the win against England’s Six Nations rivals Ireland.

But he is hoping for more game time in the next couple of games and could be handed another start against the Irish in the fifth place semi-final.

“I got my first start against Ireland the other day,” he said. “It wasn’t the best pitch we played on but we got the win.

“I played 25, 30 minutes against South Africa and it was disappointing not to win but there’s still two games left and hopefully I’ll be involved in that. I’ll just keep working.

“I didn’t really get a chance to play in the Six Nations. I got 15 minutes against Italy so it’s good to be out here with all the boys and get my chance. Hopefully I’ll get more chances in the next few games.”