Chiefs trio start for U20s against Scotland

By Mark Stevens
5/2/20

Exeter Chiefs Sam Maunder will again skipper England Under-20s when they tackle Scotland in their latest Six Nations Championship encounter in Myreside, Edinburgh on Friday (7.30pm).

The gifted scrum-half is joined in the England starting line-up by club-mates Richard Capstick and Rus Tuima, both of whom were on the scoresheet in England's 29-24 victory over France in their Championship opener last Saturday.

However, head coach Alan Dickens has made two changes to this winning formula. Harvey Beaton replaces Luke Green in the front-row, while Freddie Steward comes in for injured Josh Hodge at full-back.

There are two changes among the replacements also, Josh Gray coming in for Jack Clement, while Ollie Sleightholme is also named as a finisher.

Looking ahead to Friday's clash, Dickens said: “The players have recovered well after a physical game in France on Saturday, analysed the match, and we’ve had a good week’s preparation ahead of Friday’s fixture.

“We’ve implemented a couple of new things ahead of the game and we know it is going to be another huge challenge that we have to take very seriously.

“The last time we played in Scotland they came out winners so we’ll be well prepared for what awaits us on Friday. It will no doubt be another challenging environment, but the players have shown they can handle that and I’ve been impressed by how quickly they have gelled as a group.

“There are always areas to work on and improve, but this is a new group, we had nine debutants at U20s level start last Saturday’s game so this team will only get better the more they play together and I’m expecting an improvement in Edinburgh on Friday.

“What impressed me on Saturday was our ability to adapt tactically and we know that will again be important against Scotland.”

England men U20s team to play Scotland

15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
14. Gabriel Hamer-Webb (Bath Rugby)
13. Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks)
12. Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
11. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
10. Manu Vunipola (Saracens)
9. Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs, capt)
1. James Whitcombe (Leicester Tigers)
2. Theo Dan (Saracens)
3. Harvey Beaton (Saracens)
4. George Hammond (Harlequins)
5. Ben Donnell (London Irish)
6. Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs)
7. JJ Tonks (Northampton Saints)
8. Rus Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements

16. Ben Atkins (London Irish)
17. Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints)
18. Luke Green (London Irish)
19. Hugh Tizard (Harlequins)
20. Josh Gray (Gloucester Rugby)
21. Jack Van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
22. George Barton (Gloucester Rugby)
23. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)