Chiefs trio in U20s starting line-up

By Mark Stevens
19/2/20

Exeter Chiefs scrum-half Sam Maunder will lead England Under-20s into action in Friday's Six Nations Championship clash against reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland at Northampton's Franklin's Gardens (7:45pm).

Maunder is one of three Chiefs who will start the contest, teaming up alongside club-mates Richard Capstick and Rus Tuima in an England side which shows six changes from that which beat Scotland last time out.

Sam Crean comes into the front row for a first cap with fellow prop Luke Green returning to the starting XV. Lock Hugh Tizard starts his first game of the U20 Six Nations Championship, as does flanker Josh Gray. George Barton comes in at fly-half, while centre Charlie Watson wins a first cap for England U20s.

The Under-20s have won their opening two fixtures, sealing a bonus-point over France in Grenoble, as well as a victory over Scotland in Edinburgh. Ireland, on the other hand, have secured two bonus-point wins over Scotland and Wales.

Looking ahead to the game, England head coach Alan Dickens said: “Friday sees us come up against a strong Ireland side who are also unbeaten in this year’s tournament and who are the U20 Grand Slam champions so we know how tough a challenge it is going to be. For us it’s all about building through the tournament and improving with each game and that is what I want to see on Friday.

“A feature of our opening two games has been the squad’s ability to be clinical and control the game at key periods, but also their spirit and we know that will be important on Friday.

“We’ve made changes so this is a great chance for those players to show how good they are and stake a claim for their rest of the Championship. We have some players unavailable due to club commitments so that is a great opportunity for them to get experience playing Premiership rugby and will no doubt aid their development as future senior professionals.

“For me to bring an England team to the ground I called home for over 10 years is an incredibly proud moment. I had so many highs here, most notably the Premiership semi-final win in 2014, and it’s special to be back so soon. The atmosphere that day was fantastic and I know the players are relishing being on home soil after two tough away fixtures.”

England Under-20s side to face Ireland

15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
14. Gabriel Hamer-Webb (Bath Rugby)
13. Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks)
12. Charlie Watson (Saracens)
11. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
10. George Barton (Gloucester Rugby)
9. Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs, capt)
1. Sam Crean (Saracens)
2. Theo Dan (Saracens)
3. Luke Green (London Irish)
4. Hugh Tizard (Harlequins)
5. George Hammond (Harlequins)
6. Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs)
7. Josh Gray (Gloucester Rugby)
8. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)

16. Ben Atkins (London Irish)
17. Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints)
18. Harvey Beaton (Saracens)
19. Chunya Munga (London Irish)
20. Rob Farrar (Newcastle Falcons)
21. Blake Boyland (Bristol Bears)
22. Will Haydon-Wood (Newcastle Falcons)
23. Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)