Scotland have named their side for tomorrow’s 2017 World Rugby U20 Championship fixture against Italy.
A win for either side will see them in with a shout of a place in the main semi finals, which are made up of the three group winners and the best runner up. With New Zealand all but certain of finishing top of Group B, these two have a shot at securing that best runners up spot, though the South Africa v France draw in Group C in round 1 could throw a spanner in the works.
With that aim in mind, Head Coach John Dalziel has made just one change to the side that beat Ireland in Sunday’s thriller.
Worcester Warriors’ Tom Dodd, a former Warwick School pupil, comes in at number 8, meaning that Matt Fagerson, one of Scotland’s brightest forward talents, moves to his more natural position of openside, with Luke Crosbie moving across the scrum to blindside.
Scotland’s biggest threat looks to be their back three, made up of the talented trio of Blair Kinghorn, Robbie Nairn, and Darcy Graham. Graham and Kinghorn are both likely to star for Edinburgh for a number of years, while Nairn is at Harlequins.
Another English based player, Connor Eastgate of Wasps, continues at fly half, with Bishop Burton College’s George Thornton at loosehead, and Gloucester’s Alex Craig in the second row, while former Uppingham pupil Archie Erskine is on the bench.
Speaking ahead of the game, Dalziel said:
“Tomorrow’s game is a huge opportunity for this group to win two pool stage games for the second year in a row and guarantee a top eight finish in the competition. The group gave everything in the game against Ireland, and that was reflected in a performance full of pride in the jersey. It was a display of true grit, with the players battling in difficult conditions to earn the victory.”
“Italy are hugely physical and will also be hunting their second victory in the competition, so it’s going to be a highly competitive contest. We need to maintain our standards and continue to build on last weekend’s victory if we’re to come out on top.”
Scotland U20 v Italy U20 – Thursday, 10am kick off – Live on www.worldrugby.org
Scotland U20 XV:
15 Blair Kinghorn
14 Robbie Nairn
13 Ross McCann
12 Stafford McDowall
11 Darcy Graham
10 Connor Eastgate
9 Andrew Simmers
1 George Thornton
2 Fraser Renwick
3 Adam Nicol
4 Alex Craig
5 Callum Hunter-Hill (captain)
6 Luke Crosbie
7 Matt Fagerson
8 Tom Dodd
Replacements: 16 Robbie Smith, 17 Fergus Bradbury, 18 Ross Dunbar, 19 Hamish Bain, 20 Archie Erskine, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Josh Henderson, 23 Patrick Anderson.
Italy U20 XV:
15 Cioffi
14 De Masi
13 Zanon
12 Schiabel
11 D’Onofrio
10 Rizzi
9 Trussardi
1 Fischetti
2 Ceciliani
3 Riccioni (captain)
4 Cannone
5 Masselli
6 Bianchi
7 Lamaro
8 Licata
Replacements: 16 Rollero, 17 Rimpelli, 18 Gavrilita, 19 Iachizzi, 20 Manni, 21 Panunzi, 22 Di Marco, 23 Dal Zilio.
2017 World Rugby U20 Championship Fixtures & Results (all times BST):
Round 1 – Wednesday 31st May | ||
Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
Australia 24-17 Wales | Ireland 21-22 Italy | Argentina 37-26 Georgia |
England 74-17 Samoa | New Zealand 42-20 Scotland | South Africa 23-23 France |
Round 2 – Sunday 4th June | ||
Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
Australia 33-26 Samoa | Ireland 28-32 Scotland | Argentina 25-26 France |
England 34-22 Wales | New Zealand 68-26 Italy | South Africa 38-14 Georgia |
Round 3 – Thursday 8th June | ||
Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
England v Australia – 5.30pm | Ireland v New Zealand – 12.30pm | Argentina v South Africa – 12.30pm |
Wales v Samoa – 10am | Scotland v Italy – 10am | France v Georgia – 3pm |
Semi Finals – Tuesday 13th June
Finals – Sunday 18th June
2017 World Rugby U20 Championship Group Standings:
Group A | |||||||
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BP | Points |
1 | England | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
2 | Australia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
3 | Wales | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
4 | Samoa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Group B | |||||||
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BP | Points |
1 | New Zealand | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
2 | Scotland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
3 | Italy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
4 | Ireland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Group C | |||||||
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BP | Points |
1 | South Africa | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
2 | Argentina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
3 | France | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
4 | Georgia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
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