England U20s - 6 Nations

England U20s have named their starting XV to take on Italy in the opening match of the 2018 Six Nations.

The side, who won the Grand Slam last season, face Italy at Stadio Enzo Bearzot, Gorizia on Friday (kick-off 6pm GMT).

“It’s been really difficult to select a XV because we have some very talented young players and several of them have performed very well over the first half of the season," said England U20 head coach Steve Bates.

“Choosing the 32-man elite player squad was difficult enough, so narrowing that down has been even tougher. We’ve tried to take into consideration the way they have performed in our two camps, which has been first class, as well as the games they’ve played up until Christmas."

There will be seven players making their debut at U20 level, with five more set to win their first cap off the bench.

England will be led by Saracens flanker Ben Earl and he will be joined in the backrow by debutants Sam Moore and Tom Willis.

Prop Toby Trinder and lock James Scott are also included in the starting XV for the first time with the U20s.

Scrum half Ben White, who is also uncapped at this level, partners James Grayson at half back, while centre Fraser Dingwall and wing Ben Loader are also set to make their debuts for the U20s.

The side include eight members of the squad that reached the final of the World Rugby U20 Championship in Georgia last year.

England U20s are led by head coach Bates who is assisted by Anthony Allen, Richard Blaze and James Ponton as part of the coach development programme agreement between the RFU and Premiership Rugby.“We’ll play high-intensity, high-tempo rugby against Italy."

“We’ll play high-intensity, high-tempo rugby against Italy and I expect us to be robust and direct," added Bates. "We’ve also talked about being reactive throughout the tournament and I think we have a side that is very versatile.

“Excitement is building among the squad, this is the first match of the tournament and we’re determined to make our own history.

“Ben Earl is experienced and was with us all of last season, including throughout the World Rugby U20 Championship. His leadership qualities there were very evident, he is passionate, competitive and leads by example on and off the pitch. He is tactically astute and also a very good player.

“Most of the players in the senior side have played U20 rugby so that shows the strength of the pathway. The pathway is there to promote players through the programme and the new caps will be excited about following in the footsteps of some very special players. They recognise how big an opportunity this is for them.”

yappysnap wrote:Is Marcus Smith getting more from being in and around the England camp then starting in this tournament?

England U20 head coach Steve Bates has named his team to face Wales at Kingston Park on Friday (kick-off 7.45pm).
There are six changes to the starting XV that defeated Italy 27-17 in their Six Nations opener last weekend.

“We had a good victory against Italy last Friday in difficult conditions and made a solid start to the tournament," said head coach Steve Bates.

“The players have recovered very quickly from that opening match and the sessions we’ve had this week have been extremely competitive and focused.

“Some of the changes we’ve made have been enforced as we’ve lost players back to their clubs for the weekend’s Premiership fixtures which is a great opportunity for them."

Prop Joe Heyes and centre Cameron Redpath win their first caps at U20 level, while Ehren Painter and Aaron Hinkley could do likewise having been named among the replacements.

Redpath, Painter and Hinkley, who are not part of the U20 elite player squad, are brought in as part of the matchday 23 to take on Wales in Newcastle.

'High-intensity, high-tempo rugby'
The side include four members of the squad that reached the final of the World Rugby U20 championship in Georgia last year.

Scrum-half Ben White captains the side, having made his U20 debut last Friday, with James Grayson outside him.

Toby Trinder is named at loosehead prop with lock Sam Lewis, flanker Josh Basham and wing Jordan Olowofela starting for the first time at U20 level, having also made their debuts against Italy.

“Kingston Park is a quick pitch, which will suit our exciting backs and I’m expecting us to play high-intensity, high-tempo rugby," added Bates.

“Ben White has arrived into the U20 set up with a level of commitment to train and play positively. The way he performed against Italy was outstanding, he was brave, organised, committed and is a great choice for us as captain.”

England U20 team to face Wales

15. Tom Parton (London Irish), 14. Jordan Olowofela (Leicester Tigers), 13. Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), 12. Cameron Redpath (Sale Sharks), 11. Ben Loader (London Irish), 10. James Grayson (Northampton Saints), 9. Ben White – capt (Leicester Tigers), 1. Toby Trinder (Northampton Saints), 2. Henry Walker (Gloucester), 3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), 4. Dino Lamb (Harlequins), 5. Sam Lewis (Leicester Tigers), 6. Josh Basham (London Irish), 7. Tom Willis (Wasps), 8. Sam Moore (Sale Sharks).

Replacements
16. Gabriel Oghre (Wasps), 17. Alex Seville (Gloucester), 18. Ehren Painter (Northampton Saints), 19. James Scott (Worcester Warriors), 20. Aaron Hinkley (Gloucester), 21. Rory Brand (London Irish), 22. Tom Hardwick (Leicester Tigers), 23. Matt Williams (London Irish).

England U20s head coach Steve Bates has named his team to face Scotland on Friday in Edinburgh at Myreside (7.30pm KO).

Three players will win their first cap, while Beck Cutting and Sean Reffell could do so off the bench in England’s third game of the U20 Six Nations.

Bates’ side have so far recorded bonus-point victories in their opening two fixtures against Italy and Wales.

Ollie Lawrence, Tom Seabrook and Cadan Murley are all capped for the first time at U20 level, bringing the total number of new caps used by England in the tournament to 20.

Will Butler will captain the team from inside centre with Lawrence partnering him in midfield. Lawrence, who is part of England’s U18 squad for 2018 is brought in from outside of the U20 Elite Player Squad, along with wing Murley and prop Ehren Painter.

Prop forward Alex Seville, hooker Gabriel Oghre, second row Ted Hill, scrum half Rory Brand and outside half Tom Hardwick start their first matches in this season’s tournament.

“We are looking for another step forward in terms of our intent to play rugby," said Bates.

“We had a much-improved performance against Wales, but we are still looking to improve in certain areas of our game which we felt did not go quite as well as we would have liked.

“We saw some good individual performances against Wales, now we want to play cohesively as a team.

“Scotland at home will be dangerous opponents, their previous results are not necessarily an indicator of a side’s potential as it takes a while to get together as a team in this tournament and we’re expecting a spirited performance off them.

“It’s the curtain raiser to the big game on Saturday and they will want to set the tone so we’ll be ready for a passionate Scotland team.”

England U20s team to face Scotland

15. Jordan Olowofela, 14. Tom Seabrook, 13. Ollie Lawrence, 12. Will Butler - capt, 11. Cadan Murley, 10. Tom Hardwick, 9. Rory Brand, 1. Alex Seville, 2. Gabriel Oghre, 3. Ehren Painter, 4. Ted Hill, 5. Sam Lewis, 6. Josh Basham, 7. Aaron Hinkley, 8. Sam Moore.

Replacements:

16. Beck Cutting, 17. Toby Trinder, 18. Joe Heyes, 19. James Scott, 20. Sean Reffell, 21. Ben White, 22. James Grayson, 23. Fraser Dingwall.

Cumbrian wrote:Sounds like a good win for Scotland, is that the first time they have beaten us at this level?

I didn't see the game (and I don't want to detract from the Scots' victory) but England have not looked at the races this year in the games I have seen.