England Under-20s: Strengths, weaknesses and question marks
Every year the same question follows the announcement of the England Under-20s squad: is it better or worse than last year’s group?
England are one of the few countries in the rugby world blessed with the size of player pool and resources to ensure they never truly have a fallow year, although it is certainly true that position groups can vary in strength from season to season.
Only eight players are returning this year from last season’s squad and that inevitably means it will be quite an inexperienced group. Five players have also been called up who missed out last year but were still professional players, meaning they bring some senior rugby experience to the group.
That leaves 19 first-year players involved in the 32-man elite player squad, all of whom were only leaving school around six months ago. It’s these players – the fresh faces – that RugbyPass will focus on most closely.
Three of the real position groups of strength in this England age-grade are the fly-halves, scrum-halves and full-backs. That is nothing new at fly-half where England have been very productive as a rugby nation of late, although the surplus of talent at nine and 15, particularly the former, will be welcomed at the RFU.
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Beginning at No10 and last year’s incumbent starter, Manu Vunipola, is joined by Newcastle Falcons’ Will Haydon-Wood, Gloucester’s George Barton and Sale Sharks’ Tom Curtis. If history is anything to go by, England will not look at them as exclusive fly-halves and will instead endeavour to get them involved at inside centre or full-back as well.
It’s an interesting group. Barton was on the verges of an early under-20 cap during his final year of school, Haydon-Wood was arguably the standout ten in the Academy League – something which won him an under-19 cap – and Curtis dazzled for school side Sedbergh, a group which arguably comes as close to a full-strength Premiership academy as you are likely to find in school rugby.
Of the four, Curtis is the most versatile. He has played in the centres and on the wing previously for Sale Under-18s and he could easily replicate that with the England Under-20s during the upcoming Six Nations. A possible role in the midfield, where England have lost the likes of Cameron Redpath and Ollie Lawrence, could beckon.
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Moving on to the scrum-halves and this has been a perennial problem position for England at the senior level. The talent coming through the age-grades has been noteworthy, but they have not done enough to take over starting jobs at their respective Gallagher Premiership clubs. This class could change that.
Sam Maunder is back from the 2019 season and will reunite with Vunipola at the heart of England’s attack, although he is also joined by Raffi Quirke of Sale and Jack van Poortvliet of Leicester Tigers. The latter two have managed to keep Jonny Law, also of Leicester Tigers, and Newcastle’s Callum Pascoe both out of initial EPS selection.
Whether or not Quirke and van Poortvliet can bypass players such as Faf de Klerk and Ben Youngs in the coming years is up for debate, but their talent is not. They are very gifted half-backs and it’s clear to see that competition at the position this season is higher than it has been for quite some time.
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Finally, we come to the full-backs and arguably it is the most talent-rich position that England have to call on this year. Josh Hodge returns for another crack at under-20s success and he is joined by Leicester’s Freddie Steward, Worcester Warriors’ Noah Heward and Sale’s Joe Carpenter.
That means there is currently no spot for Harlequins’ Louis Lynagh or Northampton Saints’ Tommy Freeman. England’s frequency with which they have played a traditional fly-half at the position also needs to be taken into account.
Hodge may well be deployed on the wing to make space for one of the specialist full-backs in the squad, with Steward definitely ticking the physical prototype you would look for at the position, as well as gaining plenty of senior experience with Leicester so far this season. The omission of Lynagh will be a big talking point and not a call that everyone will agree with, although it does go to show the competition and level of talent on offer this season.
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Among the position groups where England could be harder pressed this season are the centres and the props. As mentioned earlier, Redpath and Lawrence have both graduated from the under-20s and the only new face brought in has been Max Ojomoh. The Bath midfielder has plenty of ability and will bring hard-running, dynamism and a robust physical presence to the group, though his sole inclusion does hint that England will potentially also look to use a fly-half at inside centre, as Ojomoh and Connor Doherty will not be able to carry the burden on their own.
Some of the centres who have not initially been named in the EPS are Lennox Anyanwu, Chidera Obonna, Isaac Marsh and Phil Cokanasiga, so there are gifted options there should England decide to go down a more centre-centric midfield.
As for the props, their position is not highlighted due to a lack of talent, simply due to a lack of experience. Loosehead Sam Crean is a second-year player, although he was not involved in the under-20s last year, while James Whitcombe, Harvey Beaton and Luke Green are all in their first years of professional rugby.
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In the front row, that arguably makes a bigger difference than it does at any other position. They will come up against players at times this year that have a physical edge over them and that will test them. That could be perfect for their developments in the longer term, although it’s worth noting that England may not have everything go their way up front over the next six months.
Some other interesting omissions through the squad include hooker Sam Riley (Harlequins), lock Chunya Munga (London Irish), back rows Izaiha Moore-Aiono and Fin Rossiter (both London Irish), wings Joe Browning (Leicester) and Jack Bates (Bristol Bears), and utility back Harry Barlow (Harlequins), with Barlow now potentially set to join up with Wales.
It’s always a large talent pool to pick from and there are always tough decisions to be made, although this season seems to boast more contentious calls than ever before. Perhaps that is due to a larger pool of international age-grade-calibre players this year or potentially just a very distinct playing style that the coaching staff is looking to implement over the coming months.
The group get their under-20s Six Nations campaign underway against France in Grenoble on February 1. With Les Bleus’ age-grade side arguably having surpassed England as the premier pathway in world rugby over the last couple of seasons, it should be a compelling test of this new group.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Wow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
1 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
1 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to comments