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Five England players to watch at the World Rugby U20 Championship
Our final visit to the home nations ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship takes us to England, with the perennial challengers looking to make their sixth-straight final at the tournament.
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Although shorn of the likes of Nick Isiekwe, Ben Earl and Tom Curry, all of whom travel to South Africa with the senior squad, England have more than enough talent in their ranks to compete again this year and we look at five of the key men in their bid for success.
Marcus Smith, Harlequins
For much of the season, it looked as though Smith, too, would be heading off to South Africa with the seniors, but the form of Danny Cipriani has momentarily halted the rise of the young apprentice and instead he’ll turn out with the U20s in France.
He’s an exciting addition to the group, having shone at senior level with Harlequins this season, and apart from a couple of appearances off the bench during his final year of school, he has yet to properly play for the U20s. That experience in the Aviva Premiership should help Smith significantly at this level.
His vision, ability to exploit space and intricate kicking game from hand are all reminiscent of Beauden Barrett and the chance to take the lead in an U20 tournament, after a season of apprenticing for England seniors, should do him the world of good.
Gabriel Ibitoye, Harlequins
A nominee for World Rugby Junior Player of the Year last season and one of the standout players of the 2017 tournament, Ibitoye will be hoping to go one better this season after England’s thumping at the hands of New Zealand in last year’s final.
He displayed his pace and finishing ability repeatedly last season but if you’re looking for a point of difference at this level, it may well be his defensive reading of the game, where his decision-making and positioning shine, whether deployed on the wing or at outside centre.
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Alongside Ben Loader, Tom Parton, Ali Crossdale and Jordan Olowofela, England will have one of, if not the fastest back three in the tournament and if they can generate quick ball at the breakdown and keep the tempo up, Ibitoye will be the spearhead of a very impressive group.
Joel Kpoku, Saracens
For the second year in a row, the England lineout – when Isiekwe has been with the seniors – has been, at best, inconsistent. After having missed out during the U20 Six Nations, England will be hoping the presence of Kpoku in the engine room solidifies the group over the next few weeks.
A mountain of a man, Kpoku not only brings a much-needed target at the lineout, he also brings physicality as a carrier, tackler and rucker. He has a good pair of hands, too, and won’t detract from the all-court game that England have been trying to instil throughout their age-grade pathway.
Kpoku is just the latest in a growing list of Saracens second-rows to represent England at this level, following hot on the heels of George Kruis, Maro Itoje and Isiekwe. No pressure, then.
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Ehren Painter, Northampton Saints
This old school tighthead rose to prominence late in the Premiership season, as he made multiple impactful appearances off the bench for Northampton.
Painter may not be the quickest or most expansive tighthead to have come through this England U20 side over the last decade, but in terms of scrummaging, he’s a match for any of them and arguably more formidable than most. His handling and play in the loose are certainly no weaknesses, either, but it may be refreshing to England rugby fans to see a true out and out scrummager coming through.
If he can back up his impressive end to the season for Northampton with a strong showing at the U20 Championship – and there’s no reason why he won’t – then he could quickly play his way into Chris Boyd’s plans next season.
Ben Loader, London Irish
Another wing blessed with a potent combination of speed, finishing ability and deceptive strength, Loader could be a dark horse for player of the tournament, with opposition sides potentially guilty of over-focusing on Ibitoye, given his performances last season.
Loader has been on the cusp of Irish’s senior squad this season, making a handful of appearances in the Premiership and Challenge Cup, and has seemed to take to senior rugby like a duck to water in his first year out of school.
In addition to the offensive weapons in his armoury, Loader is also an adept player of the ball in the air and has experience at full-back, although based on the composition of the squad, it looks as though he will be predominately in line to play on the wing, with James Grayson a further option at full-back following Smith’s arrival at 10.
Comments on RugbyPass
Not sure how Karl Dickson can ever ref a Quins game, he played for the club for 8 years as understudy to Care and is still close friends with half the team
3 Go to commentsAre bookies taking bets on how many times Vunipola's eventual statement will use the term “elders"? My money is on at least 4 times.
4 Go to commentsSo Ireland will be tired, despite having the most rested test squad in the world. They only play tests, champions cup and urc play off games ffs! Case in point; Leinster sent a B squad to SA for their last two games while their first xv rested up and trained at their leisure for the sf vs Saints at the so called ‘neutral venue’ of Croke Park. So tired? Do me a favour… And as for “people’s champions”? Seriously??? Outside of Ireland they are respected for their ability to win 6N. And of course plenty of inconsequential test friendlies without any real pressure. WC ko games when the pressure is white hot? Not so much…
1 Go to commentsSurprising how standing down or benching a player can do wonders for their motivation. Several players this week in that category.
1 Go to commentsHaha lads lads lads, that’s how you have a holiday In Majorca
4 Go to commentshit on Lynagh was defo late and card-worthy. The other 2 are bang on OK. Hurts you at Test level if youre timing is off and the nostrils are flared. Jerry C knew when to lean in on one, Finau just needs to keep his discipline and head straight.
5 Go to commentsSlade was exceptional against Gloucester. Not only was he doing the classic Slade stuff of running amazing lines and timing passes to perfection to put his wingers into space, he was kicking goals, flying off the line smashing people and crashing into rucks like a flanker… his hair even looked on point. 😍
1 Go to commentsThat’s really sad, hope everyone involved is ok. At least he had pants on.
4 Go to commentsTo be fair it was nowhere bear the Leinster first team (for which, btw, Leinster copped nothing like the outrage that Jake White did for sending a rotated team to the UK). But it’s fun to watch the Stormers doing their thing. They are attracting big, diverse crowds of young fans, and deservedly so. Great to see.
1 Go to commentsIt might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
5 Go to commentsCan we also show some love for Tane Edmed’s fantastic draw and pass? Put his body on the line and committed the defender before letting go of that pass. Flawless skill.
5 Go to commentsYou forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time. For Rassie, a loss is never a loss because he uses it as a chance to learn and improve. Sometimes during a game, again like the England match in last year's Semi Final.
7 Go to commentsDanny don't care. He pretends to care but he don't. He says all this stuff to justify his reasoning but no one can claim that legitimately. He knew exactly what he was doing and wondered if his old team mate would overlook it, which he did. Ref has got to be sidelined or properly trained. It's one thing for refs to move up the ranks but if it was me I would require refs to either have played in different clubs or not at all having the temptation to bias in high stakes games like this. This has got to be stamped out. But then again World Rugby is so destroying the game of rugby in an attempt to be more “safe” and “concussion free”. What they are doing is making it more infuriating for the fans and more difficult for the refs to officiate evenly and consistently. It's fast become Australian Rules football. If guys don't want concussions, they should have played chess. Stop complaining you oldies of the game. When they played the game was vastly heavier hitting than it is now but of course they can't see that.
3 Go to commentsJa, why do Bulls get flack for not bringing their best but Leinster never bring their best and it goes “unnoticed”?
4 Go to commentsIt’ll be very interesting to see how Razor’s AB’s handle the new England rush D. It’s basically the Bok recipe they copied, so if England goes well then we know most likely the Boks will go well too. If England cops a hiding then we’ll have to study and adapt.
7 Go to commentsTypical trait of an australian is to moan. Goes well with there lack of humbleness as evident by the Reds bench on the weekend.
5 Go to commentsSBW’s bro’town commentary and lazy default to hyperbole should be ignored, a technical analyst he is not. Sotutu is a good player when games get goosey loosey, high skill set that fans of Zinzan recall with starry eyes. But you need power and mongrel at no8 in the Test arena and Sotutu gets found wanting there, much like Akira Ioane. No8’s like Zinzan and Ardie have bucketloads of mongrel and power and tenacity which allow the skill sets to flourish.
12 Go to commentsAn inside pass to attacker on the angle can make a drift defence look lead footed. Relies on fleet footed forward/s to get across from the breakdown. An argument for the smaller faster 7 perhaps?
7 Go to commentsSensational tackle. The reds one was late and rightly penalised. The other two were simultaneous with the pass. If nitpicking TMOs can’t find fault there clearly isn’t any.
5 Go to commentsBrumbies fully deserved their win on the back of their physicality and desire to control the ball. Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax should be the ABs starting front row when we start our test schedule. They have “come of age” and have bested all they have faced as well as been dominant with ball in hand in making the gainline. With De Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell backed up by Taukei'aho and Cody Taylor there's not an international front row that can trouble us. Can't wait to face the Boks over there, won't be no one point game this time.
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