England U20s announce squad for World Rugby U20 Championship
The England U20s added some impetus to their season last month when they emphatically beat their South African counterparts, 35-8, at Butts Park Arena in Coventry.
The result followed a below par Six Nations from the group, who fell to defeat to Ireland in their opening game, as well as one-point loss to Wales in Colwyn Bay.
Despite having a strong pool of talent to pick from this season, England struggled to pull together players from a number of different clubs and get them firing consistently throughout the tournament, whilst they also suffered from a number of players being retained by their clubs for Gallagher Premiership duty.
The performance against South Africa was a far more cohesive display and will have given head coach Steven Bates plenty of headaches ahead of the 28-man squad announced today.
Up front, U18 sensation Alfie Barbeary has booked himself a place alongside fellow hookers Samson Ma’asi and Nic Dolly, whilst Bates has also opted for three tighthead props, with Marcus Street, Joe Heyes and Alfie Petch all heading out to Argentina later this month.
England senior international Ted Hill is included, as is Harlequins regular Marcus Smith and fast-rising Saracens lock Joel Kpoku. All three were involved in the World Rugby U20 Championship last season and are joined by fellow veterans Josh Basham, Aaron Hinkley, Tom Willis and Fraser Dingwall.
Sale Sharks‘ Cameron Redpath is also included, with an ACL rupture having denied him a shot at a senior England cap last summer, whilst other Premiership contributors such as Richard Capstick, Tom Seabrook, Arron Reed, Sam Maunder and Alex Coles are all included.
Among the players ruled out through injury are Ollie Lawrence and Cadan Murley, both of whom have been making an impact in the Premiership this season with Worcester Warriors and Harlequins respectively.
“Choosing 28 players from the 45 we have capped this season has been incredibly tough, so it’s a pretty good achievement for these players to be selected for the tournament and they should be incredibly proud of their inclusion,” said Bates.
“The U20 Championship gives them a chance to pit themselves against the best players in the world at their own age group in an international competition before heading into senior rugby, so is an important stage in their development.
“For a lot of these players it will be a unique experience to go to Argentina and play in a tournament of this stature and I know they will be relishing the challenge. They are very lucky to be representing England and will be looking to do their country proud and continue our successful history in the competition.
“We were slightly disappointed with our consistency during the Six Nations and we know we have a lot of work to do, but we have a very good and experienced group of players and if we can keep them fit then we feel we are going to be very competitive in Argentina.”
England will kick off their bid for a seventh-straight successive final appearance by taking on Ireland on June 4th, before facing Italy and Australia in the subsequent rounds of the group stage.
England U20s squad: Olly Adkins (Gloucester Rugby), Alfie Barbeary (Wasps) – Bloxham School, Josh Basham (Newcastle Falcons), Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs), Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), Tom de Glanville (Bath Rugby), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks), Nic Dolly (Sale Sharks), Ollie Fox (Yorkshire Carnegie), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors), Aaron Hinkley (Gloucester Rugby), Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons), Joel Kpoku (Saracens), Samson Ma’asi (Northampton Saints), Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs), Kai Owen (Worcester Warriors), Alfie Petch (Exeter Chiefs), Cameron Redpath (Sale Sharks), Arron Reed (Sale Sharks), Tom Seabrook (Gloucester Rugby), Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Marcus Street (Exeter Chiefs), Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs), Manu Vunipola (Saracens), Tom Willis (Wasps).
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No Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
3 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
5 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
5 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
18 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to comments