De Glanville switched from full-back to the number 10 shirt to control the 24-23 win over Italy and the 19-year-old admits he was pleased to seal the win but rued missed opportunities.

The fly-half said: “It was really important for us to get ourselves off the mark, we had a collective vibe at the start of the week in preparation for this game and we knew that we needed to win.

“We needed five points, so it is a bit gutting that we didn’t quite get that but we are just glad that we pulled through and got the win because it’s good for morale in the camp and it’s a good way to lead into the Australia game.”

England fightback

England went behind in the early stages of the second-half after two Italian scores and de Glanville reflected upon a tough period of the match and how the team overcame the challenge.

He said: “The second-half was tough, we thought that if we could run them around enough in the first-half then they would drop off towards the end but to be fair to Italy they stuck up pretty well and they came back with a few really good tries.

“We had to get our thinking hats on and solve the problems, get back on the front foot in that second period to get the win. Alex Coles gave some really good messages under the posts and It’s always good to have a few leaders on the pitch.

“Our forwards really put their hands up against Italy, we had some really good performances in the scrum, the front row worked really hard throughout which secured ball for us. All of our tries came through the forwards in that game and Josh Hodge didn’t miss a kick which was class from him.”

Optimistic about Australia

Steve Bates’ side will next face up against Australia U20s, and the young wallabies are currently undefeated and have claimed all available points after wins against Italy and Ireland.

De Glanville remains optimistic ahead of the Australia fixture as England look to finish as high as possible in the Pool B standings. Bates’ side can no longer qualify for the semi-finals due to the defeat against Ireland and not picking up a try bonus-point against Italy.

The Bath Academy product said: “It was a massively important result for us, especially heading into that Australia fixture. They have had two wins on the bounce, so we needed the win to boost morale and get the team excited for this next challenge.

“Collectively we realise now that a semi-final spot is gone, and it is more about enjoying these last few days and the game against Australia. We are looking forward to every game that we have got now and just playing for our country.

“Australia are really good all around the park, they have a really strong set of forwards and a good half-back pairing so we will have to concentrate on shutting them down early. It will be a pressure game and it's going to be a really tight test match.”

de Glanville optimistic ahead of Australia challenge after win

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