Chiefs trio in England U20s squad

By Mark Stevens
13/3/19

Exeter Chiefs forward Rus Tuima keeps his place in an England Under-20s side that shows eight changes for Friday's final Six Nations Championship clash with Scotland at Northampton's Franklin’s Gardens (7.45pm).

Powerhouse No.8 Tuima packs down in an England eight, which sees Kai Owen, Samson Ma’asi and Joe Heyes come in to complete a new-look front-row, while Alex Coles returns at lock.

Manu Vunipola starts at fly-half with Cameron Redpath and Ollie Lawrence named in midfield with Arron Reed coming in on the wing. Tom Willis continues at captain while Tom de Glanville will also switch to full back for England.

The inclusion of Leicester tight-head Heyes means Tuima's Exeter club-mate Alfie Petch drops to the bench where he is also joined by fellow Chief Richard Capstick. Also on the bench, hooker Alfie Barbeary, lock Jon Kpoku and scrum-half Gus Warr, who replaces Exeter's Sam Maunderare in line for their England U20s debuts.

Bates’ side have won two and lost two of their four games so far in the Championship, defeating France and Italy. He said: “We feel this Friday is a good opportunity to take a closer look at the players who have not had that much involvement during the tournament, while also including those that are returning from Premiership duty. We are mindful that making too many changes will be disruptive so we’ve tried to keep them to a minimum.

“We are still developing our game and have very clear goals in terms of what we want to achieve on the field in terms of performance. What we’re looking for on Friday is a bit more continuity in our play and more consistency in our performance in terms of looking after the ball and managing the game.

“We’ve used a lot of players in the tournament and feel that will be beneficial for us going into the World Rugby U20 Championship in June. We can only take 28 players to the World Rugby U20 Championship and selection is going to be very difficult so for them every opportunity they have to impress us is an important one.”

England Under-U20s side to face Scotland

15. Tom de Glanville (Bath Rugby)
14. Arron Reed (Sale Sharks)
13. Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors)
12. Cameron Redpath (Sale Sharks)
11. Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish)
10. Manu Vunipola (Saracens)
9. Ollie Fox (Yorkshire Carnegie)
1. Kai Owen (Worcester Warriors)
2. Samson Ma'asi (Northampton Saints)
3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
4. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
5. James Scott (Worcester Warriors)
6. Tom Willis (Wasps, capt)
7. Aaron Hinkley (Gloucester Rugby)
8. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements:

16. Alfie Barbeary (Wasps)
17. Olly Adkins (Gloucester Rugby)
18. Alfie Petch (Exeter Chiefs)
19. Jon Kpoku (Saracens)
20. Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs)
21. Gus Warr (Sale Sharks)
22. Kieran Wilkinson (Sale Sharks)
23. Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons)