With the international window now just about underway, the LV=Cup kicks off again this weekend, and as expected, plenty of young players will be given a chance to play.
Perhaps none more so than Harlequins and Bath, who play each other live on Sky Sports on Saturday afternoon.
Harlequins include double JWC winner Harry Sloan at inside centre, as well as the previous two JWC winning number 8, Jack Clifford who captained England U20 to victory in 2013 starts at openside, and James Chisholm, who played number 8 in last year’s victorious U20 side starts in the same position tomorrow.
On the bench are a number of school leavers, including Wellington College leaver Seb Adeniran-Olule, ex John Fisher man Kieran Treadwell, and last year’s Whitgift star, Henry Cheeseman.
Quins have plenty of experience in their side though, while Bath have named an incredibly youthful side, including a whole host of U20s.
Their backline includes yesterday’s England U20 call ups Will Homer and Rory Jennings, as well as the already selected Max Clark, who played for Bryanston School with Jennings last year.
Their school 1st XV captain the year before was Charlie Ewels, he starts in the second row, with 2013 JWC winner David Sisi at 8.
On the bench Ewels’ Bryanson teammate Tom Woolstencroft covers hooker, with double NatWest Cup winning prop with Dulwich College, Beno Obano. Millfield leaver Tom Ellis is also on the bench, as is a man who left the school a year earlier, Max Northcote-Green, while St Joseph’s College leaver George Wacokecoke is also on the bench.
They are far from the only two sides opting for youth though, Gloucester play the Ospreys and include several youngsters, including most notably the current Cheltenham College pupil, Ollie Thorley, on the wing. He is supported by 2014 JWC winners Callum Braley and Billy Burns at half back as well as Henry Purdy at outside half.
In the back second row Elliot Stooke and number 8 Ross Moriarty have also picked up JWC titles, as have Joe Batley and Lewis Ludlow on the bench, while Kai Little was a part of England U18s successful FIRA/AER European Championship win last year.
Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints is always a monumental clash, but both have felt able to give plenty of youngsters a run. Leicester’s George Catchpole and Harry Thacker will be familiar names to followers of youth rugby, as will Charlie Beckett on the bench.
Saints have mixed things up quite subtly, Tom Stephenson at centre and Howard Packman on the wing were both a part of England U20s JWC title last year, as were Jordan Onojaife and Sam Olver on the bench, while Rory Hutchinson is part of the Scotland U20 set up.
London Irish have gone for experience against the Scarlets, though last year’s England U18 fly half and Abingdon leaver Theo Brophy-Clews is on the bench. Wasps to are fairly experienced for their game against Cardiff blues, but the likes of Piers O’Connor, recent Shiplake leaver Tom Howe, and Hampton old boy Alex Lundberg add a real sense of youth.
London Welsh opt for real experience v Saracens, as their centre selection of Tom May and Olly Barkley shows, however Saracens are really opting for youth as their resources are stretched with international representation and their game against the Blue Bulls.
Max Wilkins starts at outside centre with Geroge Perkins on the wing, while a pair of JWC winners last year in Biyi Alo and Hayden Thompson-Stringer are in the pack.
On the bench the likes of Max Malins and Millfield School leaver Tom Whiteley add even more exciting youth to the Saracens ranks.
Exeter opt for a reasonably experienced starting XV against Newport Gwent Dragons, but include the likes of Joel Conlon, Jack Stanley, and Stuart Townsend on the bench, which ought to add some real excitement.
The final game of the weekend is Newcastle Falcons v Sale Sharks. Newcaslte have named a very experienced line up, hwoever Sale have opted for the opposite tactic as shown by the selection of a pair of last year’s England U18 starts, George Nott, and St Ambrose College old boy Ciaran Parker.
As ever, the LV=Cup ought to offer a great chance to see a few of tomorrow’s stars in action!
LV=Cup Fixtures:
Harlequins v Bath
Gloucester v Ospreys
Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints
Scarlets v London Irish
Wasps v Cardiff Blues
London Welsh v Saracens
Newport Gwent Dragons v Exeter Chiefs
Newcastle Falcons v Sale Sharks
Teams:
Harlequins:
15. Ross Chisholm 14. Tom Williams 13. Tom Casson 12. Harry Sloan 11. Charlie Walker 10. Nick Evans 9. Karl Dickson 1. Darryl Marfo 2. Rob Buchanan 3. Mark Lambert (c) 4. George Merrick 5. Sam Twomey 6. Joe Trayfoot 7. Jack Clifford 8. James Chisholm.
Replacements: 16. Joe Gray 17. Seb Adeniran-Olule 18. Matt Shields 19. Kieran Treadwell 20. Henry Cheeseman 21. Jordan Burns 22. Ben Botica 23. Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
Bath:
15 Horacio Agulla 14 Olly Woodburn 13 Max Clark 12 Matt Banahan 11 Richard Lane 10 Rory Jennings 9 Will Homer 1 Nick Auterac 2 Tom Dunn 3 Kane Palma-Newport  4 Dom Day 5 Charlie Ewels 6 Alafoti Fa’osiliva
 7 Guy Mercer (c) 
8 David Sisi.
Replacements:

16 Tom Woolstencroft 
17 Beno Obano
 18 Max Lahiff
 19 Tom Ellis
 20 Max Northcote-Green
 21 Micky Young
 22 Peter Stringer
 23 George Wacokecoke.
Gloucester:
Aled Thomas (c); Steph Reynolds, Henry Purdy, Bill Meakes, Ollie Thorley; Billy Burns, Callum Braley; Dan Murphy, Darren Dawidiuk, Sila Puafisi; Elliott Stooke, Tom Hicks; Dan Thomas, Jacob Rowan, Ross Moriarty.
Replacements: Aleki Lutui, Yann Thomas, Shaun Knight, Joe Batley, Lewis Ludlow, Dan Robson, Elliott Creed, Kai Little.
Ospreys:
15 Richard Fussell 14 Tom Grabham 13 Jonathan Spratt (c) 12 Ben John 11 Dafydd Howells 10 Sam Davies 9 Tom Habberfield 1 Gareth Thomas  2 Scott Otten 3 Daniel Suter 4 Rynier Bernardo 5 Tevita Cavubati 6 Olly Cracknell 7 Ieuan Jones 8 Morgan Allen.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Dwyer 17 Tom Sloane 18 Cai Griffiths 19 Rhodri Hughes 20 Ifereimi Boladau 21 Martin Roberts 22 Joe Thomas 23 Aisea Natoga.
Leicester Tigers:
15 Tommy Bell 14 Niall Morris 13 George Catchpole 12 Jack Roberts 11 Adam Thompstone 10 Owen Williams 9 Sam Harrison (c) 1 Michele Rizzo 2 Harry Thacker 3 Fraser Balmain 4 Greg Peterson 5 Sebastian De Chaves 6 Jamie Gibson 7 Robert Barbieri 8 Laurence Pearce.
Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs 17 Riccardo Brugnara 18 Logovi’i Mulipola 19 Jack Whetton 20 Charlie Beckett 21 David Mele 22 Matt Smith 23 Terrence Hepetema.
Northampton Saints:
15 Tom Collins 14 Jamie Elliot 13 Dom Waldouck 12 Tom Stephenson 11 Howard Packman 10 Will Hooley 9 Joel Hodgson 1 Ethan Waller 2 Matti Williams 3 Gareth Denman 4 Tom Ryder 5 Alex Woolford 6 Phil Dowson (c) 7 Teimana Harrison 8 Cam Dolan.
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall 17 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi 18 Adam Parkins 19 Jordan Onojaife 20 Ben Nytley 21 Alex Day 22 Sam Olver 23 Rory Huthcinson.
Scarlets:
15 Josh Lewis,  14 Harry Robinson,  13 Frazier Climo,  12 Adam Warren,  11 Kristian Phillips,  10 Steven Shingler,  9 Rhodri Williams,  1 Phil John,  2 Ken Owens (c),  3 Peter Edwards,  4 George Earle,  5 Lewis Rawlins,  6 Phil Day,  7 Will Boyde,  8 Rory Pitman.
Replacements: Darran Harris, Wyn Jones, Jacobie Adriaanse, Jack Payne, Sion Bennett, Kieran Hardy, Dan Jones, Kyle Evans.
London Irish:
15. Tom Homer;Â 14. James Short;Â 13. Tom Fowlie;Â 12. Eoin Griffin;Â 11. Andrew Fenby;Â 10. Myles Dorrian;Â 9. Darren Allinson;Â 1. Johnny Harris;Â 2. Jimmy Stevens;Â 3. Leo Halavatau;Â 4. Nic Rouse (c); 5. Sean Cox;Â 6. Kieran Low;Â 7. Conor Gilsenan;Â 8. Dan Leo.
Replacements: 16. Mike Mayhew; 17. Halani Aulika; 18. Richard Palframan; 19. David Lyons; 20. Ollie Curry; 21. Tomás O’Leary; 22. Theo Brophy-Clewes; 23. Eamonn Sheridan.
Wasps:
15. Alex Lozowski
 14. Will Helu
 13. Andrea Masi 
12. Sailosi Tagicakibau 
11. Josh Bassett 
10. Glyn Hughes
 9. Charlie Davies
 1. John Yapp
 2. Tom Lindsay
 3. Phil Swainston
 4. Will Rowlands
 5. James Cannon
 6. Ed Jackson (c)
 7. Thomas Young
 8. Guy Thompson.
Replacements:16. Edd Shervington
 17. Alex Lundberg
 18. Will Taylor
 19. Buster Lawrence
 20. Oskar Hirskyj-Douglas
 21. James Small-Edwards
 22. Tom Howe
 23. Piers O’Conor.
Cardiff Blues:
15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Richard Smith, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Adam Thomas, 11 Lucas Amorosino, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Lewis Jones; 1 Thomas Davies, 2 Rhys Williams, 3 Craig Mitchell, 4 Miles Normandale, 5 Seb Davies, 6 Macauley Cook, 7 Ellis Jenkins (c), 8 James Sheekey.
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Ben Roach, 20 Jordan Viggers, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Simon Humberstone, 23 Geraint Walsh.
London Welsh:
15. Elliot Kear, 14. Alan Awcock, 13. Tom May (c), 12. Olly Barkley 11. Nick Scott, 10. Tristan Roberts, 9. Rob Lewis, 1. Nathan Trevett, 2. Koree Britton, 3. Taione Vea, 4. Ben West, 5. James Down, 6. Ben Pienaar, 7. Carl Kirwan, 8. Opeti Fonua.
Replacements: 16. Nathan Morris, 17. Eddie Aholelei, 18. Ben Cooper, 19. Dean Schofield, 20. Richard Thorpe, 21. Alex Davies, 22. Will Robinson, 23. James Lewis.
Saracens:
15. Catalin Fercu; 14. Mike Ellery, 13. Max Wilkins, 12. Threttom Palamo, 11. George Perkins; 10. Nils Mordt (c), 9. Ben Spencer; 1. Jack Culverhouse, 2. Jared Saunders, 3. Biyi Alo, 4. Kennett O’Neil, 5. Jack Tredrea, 6. Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 7. Matt Hankin, 8. Nick de Jager.
Replacements: 16. Josh Taylor, 17. Ralph Adams-Hale, 18. Ben Featherstone, 19. Hamish Hamilton, 20. James Stockdale, 21. Tom Whiteley, 22. Henry Staff, 23. Max Malins.
Newport Gwent Dragons:
Geraint Rhys Jones, Tom Prydie, Carl Meyer, Ashley Smith (c), Ashton Hewitt, Dorian Jones, Richie Rees; Lloyd Fairbrother, Hugh Gustafson, Dan Way, Matthew Screech, Cory Hill, Nick Crosswell, James Benjamin, Andy Powell.
Replacements: Rhys Buckley, Owen Evans, David Young, Joe Davies, Scott Matthews, Luc Jones, Angus O’Brien, Jack Dixon.
Exeter Chiefs:
15 Byron McGuigan 14 Fetu’u Vainikolo 13 Ian Whitten 12 Adam Hughes 11 Tom James 10 Ceri Sweeney (c) 9 Haydn Thomas 1 Brett Sturgess 2 Elvis Taione 3 Tomas Francis 4 Jerry Sexton 5 Will Carrick-Smith 6 Tom Johnson 7 Sam Simmonds 8 Sam Skinner.
Replacements: 16 Greg Bateman 17 Jake Woolmore  18 Jack Stanley 19 Ed Holmes 20 Joel Conlon 21 Stuart Townsend 22 Laurence May 23 Max Bodilly.
Newcastle Falcons:
15 Alex Tait, 14 Lee Smith, 13 Jamie Helleur, 12 Anitelea Tuilagi, 11 Danny Barnes, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Ruki Tipuna; 1 Eric Fry, 2 Rob Hawkins, 3 Alex Rogers, 4 Josh Furno, 5 Scott MacLeod, 6 Richard Mayhew, 7 Andy Saull (c), 8 Uili Kolo’ofai.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Rob Vickers, 18 Mark Irving, 19 Sean Robinson, 20 Ally Hogg, 21 Mike Blair, 22 Phil Godman,  23 Simon Hammersley.
Sale Sharks:
Luke McLean, Tom Brady, Andy Forsyth, Sam Bedlow, Phil Mackenzie, Joe Ford, Nathan Fowles, Alberto de Marchi, Tommy Taylor, Ciaran Parker, Andrei Ostrikov, George Nott, Mark Easter, TJ Ioane, Viliami Fihaki.
Replacements: Shalva Mamukashvili, Maxim Cobilas, James Flynn, Nathan Hines, Andy Hughes, Will Cliff, Nick Macleod, Sam James.

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