Chiefs duo in England U20s squad

Exeter Chiefs duo Joel Conlon and Stu Townsend have both been named on the bench for the England Under-20s as they prepare to tackle their Scottish counterparts in their latest Six Nations fixture on Friday night at Netherdale (7.30pm).

England have made two changes to their starting line-up that lost in France a week ago, Leeds Carnegie hooker Jack Walker comes into the side for Harry Thacker who has returned to parent club Leicester Tigers. The 17-year-old is set to become the second youngest Under-20s player behind Exeter Chiefs hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie.

The other change sees Leicester Tigers flanker Will Owen come in for Conlon, while Leicester prop Harry Rudkin and Exeter No. 9  Townsend come onto the replacements bench.

After the 21-15 defeat against France in their opening game, Head Coach Nick Walshe says that he’s looking for a reaction from his players.
He said: “It was frustrating against France because we know that we could have caused them a few more problems, but it just wasn’t to be in that game. We’ve got faith in the back-line to deliver this week and hopefully the forwards can create a platform and we can go out there and perform like I know we can.”

On the introduction of Walker, he added: “He’s a really talented player. It was a shame to lose Harry [Thacker], but he’s gone back to Leicester which is great for him, and it gives us a chance to give Jack a game which is something we had planned to do later in the tournament anyway. But Jack is a very good player and I’m sure he’ll stand up to the Scottish challenge.”

Tune in to watch Scotland Under-20s against England live on RFU.com, with coverage starting at 7.30pm.
England Under 20s starting XV against Scotland

15 Nathan Earle (Saracens)
14 Zach Kibirige (Newcastle Falcons)
13 Nick Tompkins (Saracens)
12 Tom Stephenson (Northampton Saints)
11 Henry Purdy (Leicester Tigers)
10 Billy Burns (Gloucester Rugby)
9 Callum Braley (Bristol Rugby, captain)
1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi (Northampton Saints)
2 Jack Walker (Leeds Carnegie)
3 Paul Hill (Leeds Carnegie)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens)
5 Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
6 Ross Moriarty (Gloucester Rugby)
7 Will Owen (Leicester Tigers)
8 James Chisholm (Harlequins)

Replacements:

16 Tom Woolstencroft (Bath Rugby)
17 Alex Lundberg (London Wasps)
18 Harry Rudkin (Leicester Tigers)
19 Tom Ellis (Bath Rugby)
20 Joel Conlon (Exeter Chiefs)
21 Stuart Townsend (Exeter Chiefs)
22 Sam Olver (Northampton Saints)
23 Howard Packman (Northampton Saints)