ENGLAND captain Emeka Ilione admits he has never been involved in such a tense and dramatic contest after his side edged past France 29-20 in a Under-20 Six Nations Summer Series thriller.

The scoreline does not tell the full story in Verona, with England reduced to 12 men at one stage in a seemingly endless second-half, with replacement prop Andrew Turner red-carded and backs George Hendy and Tom Carr-Smith sin-binned.

Against all odds, substitute fly-half Jed Walsh then scored the decisive fourth try with England down to 13, sealing a truly memorable victory in the second round of the Italian tournament.

“This is a truly unbelievable feeling,” started Ilione, whose side suffered a 30-22 defeat against South Africa in Round 1.

“The boys played with unbelievable heart. Down to 12 men, down to 13, but the boys stayed at it and just showed how much it meant to them and how much they wanted to show that they were better than the South Africa game.

“We spoke after that game and during the week about how we wanted to focus on ourselves a little bit more and I think we put our best foot forward today. 

“It’s just an unbelievable feeling right now.”

England dominated the opening stages of the game but failed to get the points their positive play deserved

It looked like it would be another frustrating afternoon after the loss against the Junior Boks last Friday, but second-row Ewan Richards crossed twice in five minutes to get Alan Dickens' side up and running.

The ill-discipline started to creep in from there, however, with 32 penalties conceded across both sides in what became a very protracted content.  

And Ilione admits that improving that area of their game is something England will have to work on before they play Six Nations champions Ireland next Tuesday.

“I’ve never been involved in a game where a team has gone down to 12 before, and it’s certainly something we don’t want to do again,” he said.

“Discipline is something we’re going to work on going forward but I certainly can’t fault the boys’ effort and desire.”

Conor Oresanya then crossed at the start of the second-half to give England a 19-10 lead after Victor Montgaillard had earlier reduced the deficit for France.

Penalties were traded before a France penalty try brought them to within two points, before substitute Walsh finished a truly stunning team effort to clinch victory.

“The final try there shows everything that we’re about, offloading rugby, flooding through, high work rate,” Ilione said.

“I can’t say I’ve been a part of games that have gone down to the wire like that. I’m really looking forward to spending the night with these lads.

“We’re certainly going to enjoy our day off tomorrow and then go again and prepare for the challenge that we know Ireland will be, because they’re a quality, quality side.

“I’m unbelievably proud tonight. The boys have worked so incredibly hard all through the year and haven’t necessarily had the results to show for it, so we deserve this moment.”

The Six Nations Under-20 Summer Series takes place from 24 June – 12 July. Fans can watch every match live. For more information visit: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJHm6BFw-9JRA1CMekNLwMg