Bailey named in England U20s squad

By Mark Stevens
13/7/23

Exeter Chiefs youngster Joe Bailey has been named in the England Under-20s starting line-up to take on South Africa U20 in the 3rd place play-off fixture in the World Rugby U20 Championship. 

The match kicks off at 15:30 BST on Friday, 14 July at Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town and will be streamed on the World Rugby digital channels. ITV will also broadcast highlights from each match day.

Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Craig White and Afolabi Fasogbon are confirmed as the front row, with Bailey, who has joined the squad as an injury replacement, partnering captain Lewis Chessum in the second row. Chandler Cunningham-South, Nathan Michelow and Zach Carr combine to form the back row.

Nye Thomas and Connor Slevin are the half-back duo, and Rekeiti Ma’asi-White joins Joe Jenkins in the centres. Alex Wills and Cassius Cleaves are the two wings, with Sam Harris completing the line-up from fullback.

The match against South Africa is the fifth and final of England’s campaign, with a full playing schedule available on the World Rugby website. 

Mapletoft said: “This is the last opportunity for this group to take to the field together, and I know they can’t wait to give it their all. This has been a fantastic learning opportunity for this talented bunch of players, and I’m sure the experience will put them in good stead for the future.

“Going up against the hosts on Friday will be a challenge, but I have confidence in the players to put in a performance that they can be proud of.” 

ENGLAND UNDER-20s TO FACE SOUTH AFRICA UNDER-20s

15 Sam Harris (Bath Rugby)  
14 Cassius Cleaves (Harlequins) 
13 Joe Jenkins (Bristol Bears)  
12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White  (Sale Sharks)
11 Alex Wills (Sale Sharks) 
10 Connor Slevin (Harlequins) 
9 Nye Thomas (Sale Sharks)
1 Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
2 Craig White (Northampton Saints)
3 Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester Rugby)  
4 Joe Bailey (Exeter Chiefs) *
5 Lewis Chessum (Leicester Tigers, capt)  
6 Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins) 
7 Nathan Michelow (Saracens)  
8 Zach Carr (Harlequins)

Replacements:  

16 Nathan Jibulu (Harlequins)
17 Ethan Clarke (Harlequins)
18 James Halliwell (Bristol Bears)  
19 Finn Carnduff (Leicester Tigers)  
20 Tristan Woodman (Sale Sharks)  
21 Charlie Bracken (Saracens) 
22 Louie Johnson (Newcastle) 
23 Joseph Woodward (Leicester Tigers)

* Uncapped England U20 (note: matches during the recent tour of Georgia were friendlies and therefore not capped)