England U18 Men’s head coach Jonathan Pendlebury and assistant coach Will Parkin have selected their squad to face Scotland on Matchday 2 of the 2024 U18 Men’s Six Nations Rugby Festival.
The encounter between the storied rivals takes place this Wednesday (3rd April), kicking-off at 12:15 BST at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma. Tickets to the competition are free of charge, with all fixtures streamed live on the Six Nations Under-20 YouTube channel.
A statement from the RFU regarding the 2024 U18 Six Nations read:
“The Festival is a key phase of the England Rugby Men’s pathway for players and coaches to evolve and flourish on the international stage, with equal playing opportunities for each union with three 70-minute fixtures across three matchdays. This year’s edition is the third successive staging of the U18 age-grade festival, which incorporates the Unions of Portugal and Georgia for the first time.”
Head coach Pendlebury has made 10 personnel changes to the starting XV that secured a one-point victory over Wales, with Newcastle Falcons’ Patrick Hogg chosen to captain the side.
The fresh-faced line-up includes the uncapped duo of Felix Bateman-Champain and Fraser Rawlins who combine in the centres to pick up their first outing at U18 international level, and George Pearson who switches from the wing to fullback.
The squad kicked off the campaign with a 36-35 victory over Wales thanks to tries from Patrick Hogg, Connor Treacey, George Pearson, George Knowles, and the boot of James Linegar, with the latter slotting home the game-winning conversion as the clock ticked into red.
The U18 Men face-off against tournament newcomers Georgia on this Sunday (7th April, 14:30 BST kick-off) to complete their 2024 U18 Men’s Six Nations Rugby Festival schedule.
Jonathan Pendlebury said: “We were extremely proud of the resilience shown by the entire squad to work back into the game and come away with the victory against Wales. They all showed learning and understanding in managing a difficult period and it was fantastic to see the brotherhood on display.
“We know that another learning opportunity awaits us in our next match against Scotland. They overcame a strong Georgia side in the opening round, so will be heading into our fixture full of confidence.
“The experiences that the players are picking up is invaluable, and Wednesday’s match is no different.”
England U18 Men team to face Scotland (includes current club, school and community club):
15 George Pearson (Midlands Central, City of Oxford College, Buckingham RUFC) *
14 Finn Newton (Saracens, Haileybury, Hertford RFC) *
13 Fraser Rawlins (Saracens, Haileybury, Saracens)
12 Felix Bateman-Champain (Harlequins, Worth School, East Grinstead RFC)
11 Rafe Witheat (Northampton Saints, Stowe School, Ampthill RUFC) *
10 James Linegar (Bath Rugby, Kingswood School, Chippenham RFC) *
9 Lucas Friday (Harlequins, Trinity School, Bromley RFC) *
1 Jamie Miller (Harlequins, Whitgift School, Battersea Ironsides Rugby Club) *
2 George Knowles (Midlands West, Hereford Cathedral School, Ledbury Rugby Club) *
3 Ollie Streeter (Harlequins, Gordon’s School, Haywards Heath RFC) *
4 Elliot Williams (Harlequins, Gordon’s School, London Irish Amateur RFC) *
5 Aiden Ainsworth-Cave (Northampton Saints, Bedford School, Bedford Blues RFC) *
6 Patrick Hogg (c) (Newcastle Falcons, Durham School, Blaydon Rugby Club) *
7 Seb Kelly (Sale Sharks, Kirkham Grammar, Rochdale RUFC) *
8 Olly Allport (Gloucester Rugby, Dean Close College, Stow-on-the-wold & District RFC) *
Replacements
16 Jimmy Staples (Harlequins, Seaford School, Worthing Rugby Club) *
17 Josh Mann (Exeter Chiefs, Truro College, Penzance & Newlyn RFC) *
18 Sam Graham (Newcastle Falcons, Durham School, Durham City Rugby Football Club) *
19 Jonno Balding (Gloucester Rugby, Radley College, Overton RFC) *
20 Connor Treacey (Bath Rugby, Beechen Cliff, New Milton RFC) *
21 Solomon Shand (Gloucester Rugby, Hartpury College, Aylesbury RFC) *
22 Jonny Weimann (Northampton Saints, Bedford School, Royston Rugby Club) *
23 Israel Akinrowo (Exeter Chiefs, Exeter College, Devenport Services RFC) *
24 Nick Lilley (Exeter Chiefs, Exeter College, Ivybridge RFC) *
25 Tyler Offiah (London & South Central, Wellington College, Ealing Trailfinders) *
26 Dan Green (Sale Sharks, St Ambrose School, Bowdon RUFC) *
*denotes a player capped at England U18 level
England U18 Men’s Festival Fixtures:
Each team will play 1 x 70 minute match on each match day, with four matches taking place each day.
Matchday 1 (Saturday 30th March)
England 36-35 Wales
Matchday 2 (Wednesday 3rd April)
Scotland v England (12:15 BST kick-off)
Matchday 3 (Sunday 7th April)
England v Georgia (14:30 BST kick-off)