Street named in U20s side

By Mark Stevens
14/3/18

Exeter Chiefs prop Marcus Street has been named in England Under-20s starting line-up to play Ireland in the final round of the 2018 Six Nations.

Steve Bates’ side head into the fixture on Friday at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena (KO 8pm, live on Sky Sports Action) still with a chance of retaining the title.

England, who are tied on 15 points with France, have made two changes to the side with James Scott replacing Sam Lewis in the second row, while Ben Loader comes into the starting XV on the wing.

Loader’s inclusion means Jordan Olowofela moves to full back, James Grayson switches to fly-half while Tom Hardwick is named at inside centre.

Ben Earl will captain the side from openside flanker in an unchanged back-row, while the front row is also the same as the one which defeated France 22-6 in Beziers last weekend.

The fixture at the Ricoh Arena forms part of a double header, with England’s Women also in action against Ireland (KO 5.30pm).

Bates said: “We had a very good performance in France in many areas but we know we can improve and we’ll be looking to do that on Friday against Ireland. We came into this tournament with a very clear objective to improve every game with the aim that we could win the Six Nations and we’ve now got to that point.

“However, we’re just focused now on Ireland and putting in a really strong performance that allows us to win the game and we’ll see where that leaves us at the end of the tournament. It’s great that ourselves and the Red Roses have both got a chance of winning the tournament heading into that final fixture and I would urge people to come along and watch each game. It should be a really exciting fixture at a Premiership stadium and we’re hoping for a big crowd which will in turn inspire the players of both teams.”

England Under-20s side to face Ireland

15. Jordan Olowofela (Leicester Tigers)
14. Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins)
13. Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
12. Tom Hardwick (Leicester Tigers)
11. Ben Loader (London Irish)
10. James Grayson (Northampton Saints)
9. Ben White (Leicester Tigers)
1. Toby Trinder (Northampton Saints)
2. Henry Walker (Gloucester Rugby)
3. Marcus Street (Exeter Chiefs)
4. Dino Lamb (Harlequins)
5. James Scott (Worcester Warriors)
6. Josh Basham (London Irish)
7. Ben Earl (Saracens, capt)
8. Sam Moore (Sale Sharks)

Replacements

16: Gabriel Oghre (Wasps)
17: Alex Seville (Gloucester Rugby)
18: Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
19: Sam Lewis (Leicester Tigers)
20: Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors)
21: Rory Brand (London Irish)
22: Will Butler (Worcester Warriors)
23: Tom Seabrook (Gloucester Rugby)