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England name full-strength team as they get their U20 campaign underway in Cork
After having fallen just short of the title last season – missing out to France on points difference – England have been given a valuable boost heading into the 2019 U20 Six Nations.
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With the Gallagher Premiership season having been restructured for 2018/19, the presence of the Premiership Cup over the next two weeks allows a number of teams the opportunity to rest front-line players, as well as giving England an opportunity to start the U20 campaign with a full-strength side.
Only six of the Premiership sides are in action this weekend, before the semi-finals take place the following week, and that has given England full access to the EPS for the first week of the competition.
⭐ SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT ⭐
Here's your England U20 team to face Ireland U20 in Cork on Friday night 🌹
Full preview ➡ https://t.co/WqFs7OKQeY pic.twitter.com/CuDnekJsur
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) January 30, 2019
Up front, England have selected Olly Adkins, Nic Dolly and Marcus Street, with the Exeter Chiefs tighthead returning for a third year, this time with club rugby experience under his belt. Both Kai Owen and Will Capon were ruled out with injury.
One of last year’s standouts in the World Rugby U20 Championship, Joel Kpoku takes up his spot alongside Alex Coles in the engine room, with Kpoku another to have considerable experience at club level, as well as involvement in a training camp with the senior England side.
The inclusion of Ted Hill in the back row is a milestone, with the Worcester flanker the first senior England international to turn out for the U20s after having made his debut at Test level. Both Nick Isiekwe and Tom Curry received senior England caps whilst still U20-eligible, but neither player represented the U20s after earning those first caps.
Hill is joined in the back row by Aaron Hinkley and Tom Willis, where both Josh Basham and James Dun are unavailable through injury. Again, both Hinkley and Willis have Premiership experience and both players return for second years, having taken part in the U20 Six Nations and World Rugby U20 Championship in 2018.
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In the half-backs, Sam Maunder starts at nine, filling the position vacated by his older brother Jack two years ago, where he is joined by Harlequins’ Marcus Smith. With roughly a season and a half of senior Premiership and European rugby, not to mention multiple senior England training camps, Smith is the most experienced player in the group. He is set to pass the 50-appearance mark for Quins in the coming weeks.
The midfield is congested for England this season, but Tom Hardwick and Fraser Dingwall have done enough to making the starting combination for the opening week. Both players have impressed domestically so far this season, with Dingwall regularly flirting with the starting role at outside centre at Northampton Saints in both the Premiership and Europe.
In the back three, Cadan Murley starts on the left wing, after having made his way into Harlequins’ senior plans this season, scoring tries in both the Premiership and Challenge Cup. He lines up opposite Ollie Sleightholme, with the Northampton wing bagging seven tries in seven appearances for the club, in just his first year out of school. At full-back, Newcastle Falcons‘ Josh Hodge takes his opportunity.
Finally, Ben Atkins, Bevan Rodd, Joe Heyes, James Scott and Rus Tuima make up the forward replacements, with Ollie Fox, Cam Redpath and Ollie Lawrence the back line options. Both Heyes and Lawrence boast considerable Premiership and European experience, whilst Redpath continues his rehabilitation from an ACL reconstruction.
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Watch: Six Nations preview – England
Comments on RugbyPass
A long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates live or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is hear and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
2 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
2 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to comments