Jack Brown reflected on a ‘dream come true’ after captaining his country in the Six Nations Under-18s Festival.

Brown, a student at George Watson’s College, impressed as Scotland came up just short in their third and final match of the tournament against Wales, losing 35-29.

Despite the defeat, the 17-year-old is staying upbeat and believes Scotland have improved greatly over the course of their stay in Ireland.

“It’s gutting, the boys gave it their all,” he said.

“We were in it until the last but just came up short. Credit to Wales, they deserved to win but we just gave them a few easy penalties which gave them the momentum to score.

“We’ll learn from it and come back stronger.”

A third consecutive defeat in Donnybrook means Scotland will return without a win despite some pleasing moments.

Brown’s side began with a spirited 36-20 defeat against Ireland and then lost 50-7 to an imperious France outfit before their narrow reverse at the hands of Wales.

Brown, an accomplished goal-kicker and ferocious ball carrier, feels his side have much to ponder on as they dissect their matches in Dublin.

“I’ve learnt so much,” said the full-back. “The pace of the game is tremendous. You have to think on your feet a lot more than you do at schoolboy level so that’s huge.

“The physicality is much greater too, you come up against some big boys so it’s really good for learning.

“Attack wise, we’ve been working on making the extras pass.

“We had a few opportunities to go round teams and just needed to push that extra pass and our speed on the ground too as you have to be able to move around and get set so quickly.”

Brown is now seeking a place in the Under-20s side as he continues his journey towards the Test arena.

Despite a testing time on the field during the Under-18s Festival, Brown says he will always cherish the opportunity of leading his country.

“It’s a huge honour and something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid,” he added.

“I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity given to me by the coaches and I’m really thankful to have done it.”

The Six Nations Under-18 Festivals are a vital development platform for future starts of the men’s and women’s game, extending to match officials and coaches. To find out more, visit: www.sixnationsrugby.com