Conlon starts for England U-20s

Exeter Chiefs forward Joel Conlon will again start for England Under-20s when they take on Wales for Friday’s Under-20 Six Nations clash at Kingston Park, live on Sky Sports (kick off 7.45pm).

The all-action back-row forward produced a man-of-the-match display in England's latest victory over Ireland and will pack down for this latest encounter in the No.8 jersey.

Changes for England see London Wasps flanker Gus Jones and Bath Rugby lock Tom Ellis come in for their first starts of the season, while there are also maiden appearances in the match-day squad for Gloucester lock Jonny Hill, Saracens flanker Hayden Stringer and Bedford Blues wing Aaron Morris.

The game against Wales is the first time the two sides have come together since last June’s IRB Junior World Championship final – England came out 23-15 winners that day, but England Head Coach Nick Walshe is expecting a tough contest come Friday evening.

He said: “We’ve made a good start to the Championship, it was disappointing to lose out in France but bounced back with good wins against Scotland and Ireland. The positive thing is that we still feel there is more to come from the guys, and we’re hoping for a good performance against Wales.

“We’ve made a few changes to the side and that gives us the opportunity to try out some new combinations – having that strength in depth is crucial, and we feel that we’ve picked a strong side for Friday.

“There’s not a chance we’ll be taking Wales lightly, we obviously know them pretty well and they have strength all over the park, but equally, so do we. We’re really pleased to be up here in Newcastle and can’t wait to get out there in front of a good home crowd.”

England Under-20s starting XV against Wales

15 Howard Packman (Northampton Saints)
14 Zach Kibirige (Newcastle Falcons)
13 Nick Tompkins (Saracens)
12 Harry Sloan (Harlequins)
11 Henry Purdy (Leicester Tigers)
10 Billy Burns (Gloucester Rugby)
9 Callum Braley (Bristol Rugby, captain)
1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi (Northampton Saints)
2 Harry Thacker (Leicester Tigers)
3 Scott Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens)
5 Tom Ellis (Bath Rugby)
6 Ross Moriarty (Gloucester Rugby)
7 Gus Jones (London Wasps)
8 Joel Conlon (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements:

16 Tom Woolstencroft (Bath Rugby)
17 Alex Lundberg (London Wasps)
18 Paul Hill (Leeds Carnegie)
19 Jonny Hill (Gloucester Rugby)
20 Hayden Stringer (Saracens)
21 Henry Taylor (Loughborough University)
22 Sam Olver (Northampton Saints)
23 Aaron Morris (Bedford Blues)