England U20 team to play Scotland
England have named their squad for their second World Rugby Under 20 Championship fixture against Scotland at Manchester City Academy Stadium tomorrow (18:00, live on Sky Sports).
Jack Walker returns to captain replacing hooker Jack Singleton in a team that has five changes and one positional move from the one that beat Italy 48-10 in the opening Pool B fixture.
Winger Matt Gallagher and flanker Will Evans both come into the side and make their debuts for England at U20 level.
Head Coach Martin Haag said “Training has been good, and we continue to build and improve each week, so I’m delighted with how we are developing as a squad. It’s a short turnaround between games, we have recovered well and when we have trained it’s been at a high intensity. The attitude and way the boys approach training has been spot on, we need to transfer that onto the field of play.”
“We’ve picked a strong side, making some changes but largely keeping a lot of the same combinations,” said Haag. “We are confident we’ve picked a team that can go out and win against Scotland.
There is a positional change at fly-half for Harry Mallinder who switches to No. 10 from inside centre following an injury to Theo Brophy Clews against Italy.
As a result of that injury to his right foot Brophy Clews can play no further part in the tournament and has been replaced in the squad by Max Wright (Yorkshire Carnegie).
‘It’s hugely disappointing for Theo to be ruled out of the tournament at this stage,” added Haag.
“He’s a very talented young player and has showed great leadership both on and off the field. We wish him well with his recovery, he has a bright future ahead of him and he will have the opportunity to be part of the programme next year.”
Johnny Williams comes into inside centre, while Stan South is named at flanker for the match against Scotland – who themselves beat Australia 15-10 on Tuesday.
England were beaten by Scotland in the Six Nations championship earlier this year, but Haag says that result will have no impact on Saturday’s match between the two sides.
“We want to improve on certain aspects, we dropped a few balls and made a couple of errors against Italy so we want to see more accuracy and precision against Scotland,” said Haag.
“We created a lot of opportunities against Italy, (assistant coach) Rory Teague has done a great job with the attack and I’m really pleased with how it’s progressing.”
“It doesn’t matter who the opposition is, we want to go out there and play to a level and style that we aspire to” he added.
“We will keep working hard to ensure we continue to grow and develop as a squad, while also making sure the players are getting the opportunity to enjoy playing in a home World Championship. We’ve trained well, prepared well and are in a good place.”
Over 5000 supporters are expected at Manchester City Academy Stadium on Saturday and Haag hopes home support can help spur his side onto victory.
“That home support is hugely important and it’s crucial for us to start well and get the crowd on their feet,” he said.
“To play at a packed stadium in our home tournament will be added motivation for the players. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, it’s up to them to make the most of it. We need to perform and play with calmness and composure.”
Captain Walker was a replacement for the opening-round fixture against Italy and Haag says he will relish leading his country out on Saturday while acknowledging it will be a special day for the two debutants – having also given six members of the squad their first taste of U20 rugby on Tuesday.
“To lead the side out in a home tournament is fantastic for Jack and I’m sure it will be a proud moment for him.” he said.
“Matt and Will deserve their first opportunity at U20 level. They’ve looked very good in training and we want to share the workload as it’s a tough tournament, so we have made a couple of changes. Giving guys experience at this level is vital for their development and I’m excited to see them play.”
Team
15. Darren Atkins (Bath Rugby)
14. Sam Aspland-Robinson (Harlequins)
13. Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
12. Johnny Williams (London Irish)
11. Matt Gallagher (Saracens)
10. Harry Mallinder (Northampton Saints)
9. Max Green (Yorkshire Carnegie)
1. Tom West (Wasps)
2. Jack Walker (Yorkshire Carnegie) – captain
3. Billy Walker (Saracens)
4. Stan South (Harlequins)
5. Huw Taylor (Worcester Warriors)
6. George Nott (Sale Sharks)
7. Will Evans (Leicester Tigers)
8. Callum Chick (Newcastle Falcons)
16. Jack Singleton (Worcester Warriors), 17. Lewis Boyce (Yorkshire Carnegie), 18. Will Stuart (Wasps), 19. Andrew Kitchener (Worcester Warriors), 20. Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby), 21. Harry Randall (Gloucester Rugby), 22. Max Malins (Saracens), 23. Ollie Thorley (Gloucester Rugby)
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