FORMER Old Swinford Hospital pupil Huw Taylor scored a try as England Under-20s beat Ireland 45-21 to win the Rugby World Cup final last Saturday.

Lock Taylor started the clash and crossed the whitewash in a dominant first-half before England powered on to lift the trophy.

They had reached the final with victories against South Africa and Australia.

Martin Haag’s side scored three first-half tries in the final through Joe Marchant, Callum Chick and Worcester Warriors’ Taylor, with Harry Mallinder converting all three in a fine spell of rugby which saw them lead 21-0 at the break.

Ireland came back into the game with converted tries from Adam McBurney and Shane Daly but Mallinder crossed twice himself, also kicking two conversions and a penalty.

A second try from Marchant, which Mallinder converted, added further gloss to England’s victory despite Ireland’s late consolation through Max Deegan.

It was the third time in four years the Under 20s have been crowned champions, and a fantastic transformation after their disappointing RBS 6 Nations campaign earlier this year.

Taylor, who hails from Claverley, followed his elder brother Ed to OSH in 2007 where both went onto captain the school First XV.

He was also part of the Old Swinford side which reached the Daily Mail Cup final, played against Dulwich at Twickenham. He played for Bridgnorth before joining Worcester.

The six-try victory rounded off a memorable day for England Rugby following the success of the senior side in sealing a 3-0 series whitewash over Australia.

Head coach Martin Haag said: “We’ve shown incredible team spirit which is a key ingredient to any side. The performance was outstanding. I thought the way we adapted and turned defence into attack was brilliant.

The way the players handled the pressure over the 80 minutes is massive credit to them.

“These players have a huge amount of potential, they have a bright future ahead of them and this is just part of their rugby journey.”