England U20 head coach Mark Mapletoft and assistant coach Andy Titterrell have made four changes to their England U20 Men’s starting XV, as they face Wales in round two of the 2024 Under-20 Men’s Six Nations Championship.
The Anglo-Welsh age-grade clash takes place at the Recreation Ground in Bath this Friday (9 February), kicking-off at 19:15 GMT. The match will be streamed live on the BBC Sport website.
After scoring a try and bagging an assist against Italy, Finn Carnduff will captain the side for a second week after defeating the Italians 36-11 in their Round 1 match-up in Treviso. Carnduff will now lead England into their first home encounter of the tournament when Richard Whiffin’s Wales arrive on Avonside.
On top of his try and assist, Carnduff led Round 1 in breakdown steals (two), clean-outs (five, alongside Craig Wright and Junior Kpoku) and lineout takes (nine), and will be providing the back-row disruption alongside hat-trick hero Henry Pollock and Nathan Michelow.
Saracens’ Michelow captained the team in a warm-up against Bath United in January and earned 30 minutes as a replacement against Italy last Friday, now replacing Zach Carr for his seventh cap in the only alteration to the starting pack.
Ben Redshaw moves further infield to partner Newcastle Falcons clubmate Ollie Spencer in the centres replaning injured Harlequins midfielders Sean Kerr and Ben Waghorn. Ioan Jones assumes the 15 shirt for his first U20 start.
Twelve newly-capped pathway players were introduced to U20 level in the encounter against the Azzurrini. This week, Archie McParland of Northampton Saints is set for his first U20 bow at the Rec, after his late withdrawal from the matchday squad due to a case of tonsillitis . Exeter Chiefs back-row Kane James and George Makepeace-Cubitt of National League One club Rams RFC, could also earn their first U20 caps from the bench.
Henry Pollock contributed a hat-trick of tries and assisted England’s fourth via Josh Bellamy, to help secure five points at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo last Friday. The Northampton Saints flanker also amassing the third-most metres gained (94.4) and fourth-most carries (12) in Round 1.
Elsewhere on the opening night of the 2024 Under-20 Six Nations, Wales took a slender 37-29 victory against Scotland with tries courtesy of Walker Price and Rhodri Lewis contributing to the fourth-quarter turnaround in Colwyn Bay. Former Bath Rugby stalwart and England Rugby pathway scrum coach Nathan Catt previewed Friday’s game upon his return to Somerset.
“Our U20 Men had a really productive week at Bisham Abbey and that’s been reflected in our output in meetings, skills sessions and on-field training. We have a positive mindset going into Friday,” he stated.
“Matches against Wales are always special occasions with each side fighting for bragging rights, we expect high intensity from a Welsh team that will feel confident after last week’s result.
“Of course, it’s fantastic to be returning back to Bath where I spent my career as a player and a coach, I’m sure our home support will be eager to cheer us on to another positive result as we look to build momentum into this tournament.”
England U20 Men’s side to face Wales
15 Ioan Jones (Gloucester Rugby) *
14 Toby Cousins (Northampton Saints) *
13 Ben Redshaw (Newcastle Falcons) *
12 Ollie Spencer (Newcastle Falcons) *
11 Alex Wills (Sale Sharks) *
10 Rory Taylor (Gloucester Rugby) *
9 Archie McParland (Northampton Saints)
1 Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks) *
2 Craig Wright (Northampton Saints) *
3 Billy Sela (Bath Rugby) *
4 Olamide Sodeke (Saracens) *
5 Junior Kpoku (Racing 92) *
6 Finn Carnduff (c) (Leicester Tigers) *
7 Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints) *
8 Nathan Michelow (Saracens) *
Replacements
16 Jacob Oliver (Newcastle Falcons) *
17 Scott Kirk (Bath Rugby) *
18 James Halliwell (Bristol Bears) *
19 Joe Bailey (Exeter Chiefs) *
20 Kane James (Exeter Chiefs)
21 Ben Douglas (Newcastle Falcons) *
22 Josh Bellamy (Harlequins) *
23 George Makepeace-Cubitt (Rams RFC)
*denotes a player previously capped at U20 level
England U20 Men’s U20 Six Nations fixtures and results
2 February – Italy 11-36 England – 19:15 – Stadio Monigo, Treviso
9 February – England v Wales – 19:15 – The Recreation Ground.
23 February – Scotland v England – 19:15 – Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
8 March – England v Ireland – 19:15 – The Recreation Ground.
15 March – France v England – 20:00 – Stade du Hameau, Pau