England have named their side for their second fixture of the 2018 U20 6 Nations, versus Wales.
The game takes place on Friday evening at Kingston Park, kicking off at 7.45pm and will be shown live on Sky Sports Action.
England U20 head coach Steve Bates has named his team to face Wales at Kingston Park on Friday (kick-off 7.45pm).
Both England are Wales will arrive in Newcastle with plenty of confidence after opening weekend wins, England beating Italy 27-17 in tough conditions, while Wales were in flying form for a 36-3 win over Scotland.
Head Coach Steve Bates has made five changes to the side that faced Italy, including bringing in Sedbergh School’s Cameron Redpath at inside centre. The Sale Shark follows in the footsteps of Marcus Smith, Ted Hill, and Marcus Street last year as an England U20 player whilst still at school.
The other change in the backline sees Leicester Tigers’ Jordan Olowofela promoted from the bench to the right wing. The rest of the backline is unchanged, Olowofela is joined in the back three by London Irish and former Wellington College duo Tom Parton and Ben Loader, both of whom were try scorers against Italy.
Former Bedford School skipper Fraser Dingwall remains at outside centre, while his Northampton Saints teammate James Grayson is at fly half again. Ben White, the former Denstone College star, remains at scrum half and takes over the captaincy in just his second cap.
Commenting on White’s selection as captain, Bates said:
“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.”
Up front Leicester Tigers’ Joe Heyes comes in for Marcus Street at tighthead, while former Bromsgrove skipper Henry Walker remains at hooker, along with Northampton Saints’ Toby Trinder at loosehead.
There is one change in the second row, with another Leicester Tiger promoted from the bench, Sam Lewis the former Denstone College man. He is alongside former Cranleigh School man, Dino Lamb in the second row.
Josh Basham, another former Wellington College man, comes into the back row in place of Ben Earl, who skippered the side last week. He comes in at six, with Wasps’ Tom Willis moving from eight to seven, and Sam Moore, a former Sedbergh teammate of Redpath’s, moving from six to eight.
Gabriel Oghre and Alex Seville retain their places on the bench, while Northampton Saints’ Ehren Painter comes in as a replacement loosehead. James Scott moves from the starting fifteen to the bench as second row cover, while Gloucester’s Aaron Hinkley, a star for England U18 last year, comes in as back row cover.
Rory Brand, yet another former Wellington College star, again covers scrum half, and his former schoolmate and current London Irish clubmate Matt Williams joins him on the bench this week. Making a total of five former Wellington College pupils in the 23. Former Rugby School star Tom Hardwick completes the 23, he will cover Grayson at outside half.
Speaking ahead of the game, Head Coach Steve Bates said:
“We had a good victory against Italy last Friday in difficult conditions and made a solid start to the tournament. 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.”
“Selection for Italy was very close in many positions and choosing the starting XV for Friday against Wales has been just as tough. The players we’ve chosen have performed very well in the first half of the season as well as contributing positively to training this week so they have earned their chance.
“Kingston Park is a quick pitch, which will suit our exciting backs and I’m expecting us to play high-intensity, high-tempo rugby.
England U20 XV v Wales – Friday, 7.45pm ko, Kingston Park – Live on Sky Sports Action
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 (Leicester Tigers, captain), 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).
