Archie McParland is set to make his England Under-20s debut as one of four Northampton Saints players named in the matchday squad to face Wales in the second round of the 2024 Under-20 Men’s Six Nations Championship.
Scrum-half McParland was a late withdrawal from the starting line-up for the round one clash with Italy, but will make his bow in this Anglo-Welsh age-grade clash that takes place at the Recreation Ground in Bath this Friday (9 February, kick-off: 7.15pm), with the match streamed live on the BBC Sport website.
Joining him in the starting line-up is flanker Henry Pollock, who marked his U20s debut with a hat-trick of tries and a man-of-the-match award in the 36-11 victory in Treviso. Winger Toby Cousins and hooker Craig Wright will also add to their U20s caps on Friday evening after retaining their starting roles.
There’s four changes to the England line-up as Saracens’ Nathan Michelow, who played 30 minutes as a replacement against Italy last Friday, replaces Zach Carr in the only alteration to the starting pack.
Ben Redshaw moves further infield to partner Newcastle Falcons clubmate Ollie Spencer in the centres, replacing injured Harlequins midfielders Sean Kerr and Ben Waghorn. Ioan Jones assumes the 15 shirt for his first U20s start.
Elsewhere on the opening night of the 2024 Under-20 Six Nations, Wales took a slender 37-29 victory against Scotland with tries courtesy of Walker Price and Rhodri Lewis contributing to the fourth-quarter turnaround in Colwyn Bay.
Former Bath Rugby stalwart and England Rugby pathway scrum coach Nathan Catt previewed Friday’s game upon his return to Somerset.
“Our U20s Men had a really productive week at Bisham Abbey and that’s been reflected in our output in meetings, skills sessions and on-field training. We have a positive mindset going into Friday,” he said.
“Matches against Wales are always special occasions with each side fighting for bragging rights, we expect high intensity from a Welsh team that will feel confident after last week’s result.”
Nathan Catt, England Rugby pathway scrum coach
“Of course, it’s fantastic to be returning back to Bath where I spent my career as a player and a coach, I’m sure our home support will be eager to cheer us on to another positive result as we look to build momentum into this tournament.”
England Under-20s side to face Wales
15 Ioan Jones (Gloucester Rugby) *
14 Toby Cousins (Northampton Saints) *
13 Ben Redshaw (Newcastle Falcons) *
12 Ollie Spencer (Newcastle Falcons) *
11 Alex Wills (Sale Sharks) *
10 Rory Taylor (Gloucester Rugby) *
9 Archie McParland (Northampton Saints)
1 Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks) *
2 Craig Wright (Northampton Saints) *
3 Billy Sela (Bath Rugby) *
4 Olamide Sodeke (Saracens) *
5 Junior Kpoku (Racing 92) *
6 Finn Carnduff (c) (Leicester Tigers) *
7 Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints) *
8 Nathan Michelow (Saracens) *
Replacements:
16 Jacob Oliver (Newcastle Falcons) *
17 Scott Kirk (Bath Rugby) *
18 James Halliwell (Bristol Bears) *
19 Joe Bailey (Exeter Chiefs) *
20 Kane James (Exeter Chiefs)
21 Ben Douglas (Newcastle Falcons) *
22 Josh Bellamy (Harlequins) *
23 George Makepeace-Cubitt (Rams RFC)
*denotes a player previously capped at U20s level
England Under-20s Six Nations fixtures and results
- 2 February: Italy 11 – 36 England (Stadio Monigo, Treviso)
- 9 February: England v Wales (19:15, The Recreation Ground, Bath)
- 23 February: Scotland v England (19:15, Hive Stadium, Edinburgh)
- 8 March: England v Ireland (19:15, The Recreation Ground, Bath)
- 15 March: France v England (20:00, Stade du Hameau, Pau)
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