Fisilau named in England U20s squad

By Mark Stevens
9/1/23

Exeter Chiefs forward Greg Fisilau has been named in Alan Dickens’ 32-man England Elite Player Squad for the 2023 campaign, ahead of the Under-20 Six Nations starting next month.

The talented 19-year-old - who has travelled to South Africa this seek as part of the Chiefs squad for their Heineken Champions Cup clash with the Bulls on Saturday - is one of eight players already capped at U20 level, alongside the likes of Archie McArthur, Finn Theobald-Thomas, Lewis Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South, Rekeiti Ma'asi-White, Louie Johnson and Charlie Bracken.

Dickens’ side opens its Six Nations campaign against Scotland on Friday, 3 February (K.O. 19:00 GMT) at Twickenham Stoop, the evening before the England senior men’s team opens its own tournament.

To continue preparations ahead of the opening fixture, the men’s U20 squad will convene for camp at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre on Wednesday, 11 January, which will include two matches against Oxford University (K.O. 15:00 Saturday, 14 January) and Loughborough University (K.O. 13:00 Saturday, 21 January).

In addition to the Six Nations, England men’s U20 also will compete in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship this upcoming summer. England’s player pathway programme is a vital development tool for future international rugby; of the 48 players capped for England last year, 42 of them played England U20.

Dickens said: “We’re very excited about the squad coming together in camp this week as we prepare for our 2023 campaign. Being selected for England at any level is a proud moment in their careers and hopefully this is the next step towards achieving their dream of playing for the senior side.

“Those who have been selected have been playing at various levels, including Premiership, Championship, BUCS Super Rugby, and National League rugby, where their academies have put in a lot of hard work. I’d like to thank the clubs, the coaches, and the managers for their support because their communication and collaboration has been excellent.

“There are eight players returning this year who have been part of the Under-20 setup before, plus another four – Nathan Jibulu, Rob Carmichael, Josh Dingley, and Tobias Elliott– who took away a lot of experience from last year’s Under-19 match in Italy. Equally there are others who have worked very hard to be selected in the pathways programme for the first time.

“We’re looking forward to what will be a tough Under-20 Six Nations campaign, which starts with our match against Scotland at Twickenham Stoop, followed by the World Rugby Under-20 Championship later this year. We’re also looking forward to taking on Oxford University in front of a lively, and hopefully packed-out Iffley Road before we back up against the Loughborough Students the following week. These games are an important part of our preparation for the Under-20 Six Nations and will provide an opportunity to see players perform as a team ahead of the tournament.”

Forwards

Harry Browne (Harlequins)
Robert Carmichael (Leicester Tigers)
Finn Carnduff (Leicester Tigers)
Lewis Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Chandler Cunningham-South (London Irish)
Josh Dingley (Bath Rugby)
Danny Eite (Gloucester)
Afolabi Fasogbon (London Irish)
Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs)
James Halliwell (Bristol Bears)
Tim Hoyt (Leicester Tigers)
Nathan Jibulu (Harlequins)
Joshua Manz (Leicester Tigers)
Archie McArthur (Gloucester)
George Patten (Northampton Saints)
Guy Pepper (Newcastle Falcons)
Calum Scott (London Irish)
Finn Theobald-Thomas (Gloucester)

Backs

Charlie Bracken (Saracens)
Cassius Cleaves (Harlequins)
Jacob Cusick (Leicester Tigers)
Tobias Elliott (Saracens)
Sam Harris (Bath Rugby)
Josh Hathaway (Gloucester)
Joe Jenkins (Bristol Bears)
Louie Johnson (Newcastle Falcons)
Rekeiti Ma'asi-White (Sale Sharks)
Connor Slevin (Harlequins)
Nye Thomas (Sale Sharks)
Benjamin Waghorn (Harlequins)
Joseph Woodward (Leicester Tigers)
Sam Worsley (Bristol Bears)

U20 Six Nations home fixtures

Friday 3 February – England v Scotland – KO 19:00 GMT – Twickenham Stoop, London

Friday 10 February – England v Italy – KO 19:00 GMT – Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester

Friday 24 February – Wales v England – KO 19:15 GMT

Friday 10 March – England v France – KO 20:00 GMT – The Recreation Ground, Bath

Sunday 19 March – Ireland v England – KO 17:00 GMT

Tickets for the 2023 Under-20 Six Nations home fixtures are on sale and can be purchased via englandrugby.com/tickets.