Four Northampton Saints players have been named in England Under-20’s matchday squad to face Italy in the first round of the 2024 Under-20 Men’s Six Nations Championship.
Flanker Henry Pollock and scrum-half Archie McParland will make their U20 debuts in the starting line-up alongside previously capped duo of winger Toby Cousins and hooker Craig Wright, in the encounter at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo on Friday 2 February (kick-off: 7.15pm GMT).
England U20 Men head coach Mark Mapletoft said: “It’s great to be back in a game week with the boys, the team are incredibly excited for Friday’s test against a very challenging Italian side.
“Over the past week, we’ve challenged the team to push themselves in a highly competitive environment as well as seeking to emulate our core principles of speed, attachment and space.
“Andy, the coaches and I have welcomed the intensity that the boys have channelled their rugby through in Bisham recently, and that excites us ahead of a tournament we want to start strongly in this week.”
The U20 Men have accelerated preparations for the Six Nations tournament in recent weeks with fixtures against Bath United and Oxford University, missing out in a 33-42 scoreline in the former and emerging victors in the latter, finishing 44-5 against the university outfit.
Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre hosted Mapletoft’s set-up once again in a week of unit work, gym sessions and prepare to play routines in preparation for the challenge of Friday’s hosts, Italy.
Italy’s U20 Men picked up two wins in last year’s edition of the tournament, England defeating the Azzurri 32-25 at Kingsholm, and arrive into match week in high confidence after a 22-18 warm-up victory over France in Viadana this January.
The match will be streamed live on BBC iPlayer.
England U20 Men’s team to face Italy
15 Ben Redshaw (Newcastle Falcons)
14 Toby Cousins (Northampton Saints) *
13 Ben Waghorn (Harlequins) *
12 Sean Kerr (Harlequins)
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 Zach Carr (Harlequins) *
Replacements:
16 Jacob Oliver (Newcastle Falcons)
17 Scott Kirk (Bath Rugby)
18 James Halliwell (Bristol Bears) *
19 Joe Bailey (Exeter Chiefs) *
20 Nathan Michelow (Saracens) *
21 Ben Douglas (Newcastle Falcons)
22 Josh Bellamy (Harlequins)
23 Ollie Spencer (Newcastle)
*denotes a player previously capped at U20 level
England U20 Men’s 2024 U20 Six Nations fixtures
2 February - Italy v England - 19:15 - Stadio Monigo, Treviso
9 February - England v Wales - 19:15 - The Recreation Ground
23 February - Scotland v England - 19:15 - Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
8 March - England v Ireland - 19:15 - The Recreation Ground
15 March - France v England - 20:00 - Stade du Hameau, Pau
Next Home Match
