Quartet named in U20s squad

By Mark Stevens
20/2/19

Exeter Chiefs prop Alfie Petch will make his England Under-20s debut in Friday night's Six Nations Championship clash with Wales at the ZipWorld Stadium, Colwyn Bay (KO 19.05 GMT, live on S4C).

The talented tight-head - who replaces club-mate Marcus Street in the starting line-up - is one of four Chiefs players named by Steve Bates in his 23-man squad.

With several players retained by Premiership clubs for this weekend’s domestic fixtures, Bates has made seven changes to the side that defeated France in the second round of the U20 Six Nations Championship.

Petch starts in the No.3 shirt with Street retained by the Chiefs for their Premiership clash with Newcastle Falcons, while Exeter flanker Richard Capstick is the other change in the forwards.

There is a new half-back pairing with scrum half Ollie Fox starting alongside Kieran Wilkinson who also makes his U20s debut. There is a debut for outside centre Connor Doherty, while inside him Tom de Glanville starts his first U20s game. Wing Ollie Hassell-Collins is the other debutant for the clash in north Wales with England captained by number eight Tom Willis on Friday.

On the bench, Exeter's Rus Tuima and Sam Maunder - both of whom featured in the opening two games against Ireland and France - are also included.

Bates said: “Making so many changes provides a challenge for the coaches but this is where the training we did with the wider squad in December and January pays dividends.

“This is a huge opportunity for those players coming in to show how talented they are and stake a claim for future selection. We had an impressive win against France, and the players that have come in since that victory have trained well and we have confidence in them to build on that win.

“We know Friday is going to be a huge challenge, it is away in Wales and we are expecting a hostile atmosphere but the players should relish that.

“We’d like to see a combination of the two performances we have had in the tournament. We want to see the forward dominance we saw against France, while also playing with the fluidity we had against Ireland and then manage the game appropriately.”

England U20s side to face Wales U20s

15. Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons)
14. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
13. Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks)
12. Tom de Glanville (Bath Rugby)
11. Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish)
10. Kieran Wilkinson (Sale Sharks)
9. Ollie Fox (Yorkshire Academy)
1. Olly Adkins (Gloucester Rugby)
2. Nic Dolly (Sale Sharks)
3. Alfie Petch (Exeter Chiefs)
4. Joel Kpoku (Saracens)
5. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)
6. Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs)
7. Aaron Hinkley (Gloucester Rugby)
8. Tom Willis (Wasps)

Replacements:

16. Samson Ma'asi (Northampton Saints)
17. Kai Owen (Worcester Warriors)
18. Jack Bartlett (Gloucester Rugby)
19. James Scott (Worcester Warriors)
20. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)
21. Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs)
22. Manu Vunipola (Saracens)
23. Jack Reeves (Gloucester Rugby)