The future of England rugby certainly looks exciting, as Mark Mapletoft's side won the U20 World Championship's this past Friday night in Cape Town. The land of the Springboks played hosts to a tremendous tournament finale, as England triumphed over a valiant French side 21-13, to take home the trophy from the DHL Stadium.
With an abundance of exhilarating young talents coming through the ranks, the future is now for England, as the class of 2024 could well be on their way to senior call-ups before too long. England's victorious campaign in South Africa was the nation's first U20 World Championship since 2016, and that crop of age grade stars included the likes of senior capped England players Joe Marchant and Max Malins.
Mapletoft's side have had an incredible 2024, as England also claimed the 2024 U20 Six Nations title earlier this year, which was the team's first since the Grand Slam of 2021. This past Friday's win over France marked the end of an era of French dominance of the U20 World Championships, as Les Blues had won the annual tournament for the previous three years. In what is an emphatic statement towards the future of England rugby, here is a closer look at five future talents from the world championship winning squad.
1. Finn Carnduff (Leicester Tigers)
The captain who led England to their triumphant campaign, Finn Carnduff has been an ever-present source of inspiration to his England U20 'brothers in arms'. Carnduff went viral across social media ahead of the final, as his impassioned team talk showcased just how much the competition means to this group of young men. It's evident that Carnduff's leadership is unparalleled within the England U20s, with it shown that when the skipper speaks, the squad stops to listen.
The versatile forward is a stunning technical talent, with an astute awareness on how to capitalise upon the set-piece. A real threat in the air, Carnduff rules the line-out as his own fly zone, with a telepathic connection between the throwing hooker. Carnduff also excels around the breakdown, and digs in for the hard yards whilst the likes of Junior Kpoku take the turnover spotlight. Selfless, courageous and fearless, Carnduff is a testament to the Leicester Tigers system, chiseled in the grit of the Welford Road school of hard knocks.
Comfortable across both the second and back rows, Carnduff began his England U20s journey in the locks but has since progressed on to a mainstay upon the blindside flank. Carnduff has improved insurmountably since making his debut for Leicester in the 2022 Premiership Rugby Cup against London Irish, and made five Premiership appearances this season, including an 80 minute run out in an East Midlands derby.
2. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
The loose cannon of the England U20 back row, Henry Pollock is the fiery 'Yin' of the open-side flank that couples with the ice-cool confidence of Carnduff's 'Yang'. The personification of a firecracker, Pollock's sparks begin to fly before he crosses the pitch, as the Northampton man psychs himself up to the point of combustion. Whilst Pollock's hard-hitting defence has impressed all onlookers, the Saints man has also made a name for himself on the front foot.
Pollock is no stranger to a stunning breakaway, and runs with the ball with the confidence of a playmaking centre that relishes the offensive challenge. Equally adaptable to step around an opponent or power over the top of them, Pollock's influence as a ball carrier is what is setting him apart from the rest of the similarly aged talents across the Premiership. Pollock began his U20s England career with a hat-trick, as he crossed over for a trio of tries in the 2024 U20 Six Nations opener against Italy.
More recently, Pollock contributed two tries to England's U20 World Championship winning effort, as he dotted the ball down in the first and second pool stage matches against Argentina and Fiji. For his club, Pollock made his Northampton senior debut in the 2022 Premiership Rugby Cup and mirrored his England captain with a maiden run-out against London Irish. Pollock would also make his Premiership debut in an East Midland's derby, yet took to the turf at Welford Road, whilst Carnduff's first rivalry match was at Franklin's Gardens.
3. Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester Rugby)
England fans could well be seeing more of stand-out prop Afolabi Fasogbon before too long, as Steve Borthwick's senior squad is considerably thin across the tight-head ranks. With veteran prop Dan Cole admitting after the second Test against the All Blacks, that he is taking his Test match career 'day by day', the pecking order does not stretch much further than Bath's Will Stuart and Joe Heyes of Leicester Tigers.
Fasogbon could well be what England need to complete their transition into a new era of props, and follow the course set from loose-head Fin Baxter's fantastic debut in New Zealand. With the sands of time continuing to fall for Joe Marler and Dan Cole, England could well boast an all new front row, when the 2027 Rugby World Cup rolls around in Australia. Fasogbon had a stunning campaign out in South Africa, and was apart of the pack that bulldozed over the Junior Springboks in the third pool stage round.
Fasogbon exploded off the bench in Mapletoft's own 'bomb squad', as he lifted the tempo set by Billy Sela. A man worthy of his own entry onto this list, Sela is another name for the future and has been gaining valuable scrummaging guidance under Will Stuart at the Rec. Add in former Bath prop Nathan Catt, who is building the pack of tomorrow as the England U20 scrum coach, and the stage is set for Fasogbon and Sela to jostle over the England three jersey for years to come.
Another notable mention for this list is Asher Opoku-Fordjour, with the Sale Sharks prop progressing at an impressive rate in the North West. The x-factor that Opoku-Fordjour brings to the future England front row, is his ability to play across both the loose and the tight heads of the scrum, with the Shark previously expressing a preference to be England's future number one.
4. Jack Bracken (Saracens)
Scoring a hat-trick on your England U20 debut is the perfect way to get noticed, just ask Henry Pollock. The same can be said for flying wing Jack Bracken, who marked his first cap for the age grade side with three tries against Argentina. This phenomenal outing was the perfect way for England to ignite their U20 World Championship campaign, as they rode to the top of the pool, upon a tidal wave of momentum.
As his surname suggests, Bracken is the latest break-out talent from the family of a former England international. The middle son of 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Kyran Bracken, Jack is following in the footsteps of both his father and his older brother Charlie, as his sibling also came through the ranks of the England U20s. The two brothers are now both firmly on the books of the Saracens Academy, and Jack Bracken looks well on his way to a first senior Sarries cap in the 2024/25 season.
At just 18-years-old, Bracken has plenty of time to develop within the England U20s system with his first three appearances coming on the recent trip to South Africa. Bracken made his debut with the aforementioned hat-trick against Los Pumas, and followed this up with caps against the tournament hosting junior Boks, and a replacement role in the final against France.
Bracken has previously told RUCK that his dream is to play on the wing in the same back-line as his two brothers. With scrum half Charlie partnering up with youngest brother Lochlan at 10, watch out for the Bracken's to become the core of the Saracens attack in years to come.
5. Toby Cousins (Northampton Saints)
With versatility in abundance, Northampton back Toby Cousins has all the tools to become England's next 'Swiss-army knife' of the attacking line. With the role currently held by Elliot Daly, the Saracen is approaching the twilight of his career at 31-years-old, yet still has a few years left in the tank before he passes on the torch to a coming of age Cousins.
The Northampton man is a chalked down as a right wing on paper, but he has plenty of prior experience across all back-three positions, as well as a run in the centres for his schoolboy first XV. Now add into the mix a year on the open-side flank at the age of 15, and Cousins has an assortment of talents that makes him a threat on the front foot, whilst also being well versed in the breakdown and coming up with an essential turnover.
Northampton fans are eagerly awaiting Cousins' debut, as his opportunity to make a maiden run-out was curtailed by the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September. Cousins was named on the team-sheet for a Premiership Rugby Cup outing, yet the untimely passing of the monarch meant that all sport was cancelled that weekend, and Cousins soon suffered a series of hamstring issues that curtailed his first team involvement at Franklin's Gardens.
Cousins has given Saints fans an early taster of whats to come, as he donned the red rose for U20 World Championship appearances against Fiji and Ireland. The 19-year-old impressed with two solid tries against the Pacific Islanders, and also contributed off the bench as England booked themselves a place in the final, by surpassing Ireland in the semis.
