Kvesic will captain England U20 against Scotland
England U20 have made nine changes to the side that started the 33-25 win against Ireland in their Junior World Championship opener for the game against Scotland in Treviso on Tuesday, June 14. The game will be shown live on Sky Sports 4, kick off 5.10pm.
Worcester Warriors flanker Matt Kvesic will captain the side in place of Newcastle Falcons No. 8 Alex Gray, who is on the bench, while Saracens fly half Owen Farrell starts at No. 10 for the first time in his England career, in place of Leicester Tigers’ George Ford.
Ryan Bower (Leicester Tigers), Rob Buchanan (Harlequins), Will Collier (Harlequins), Sam Twomey (Harlequins), Sam Jones (London Wasps), Marland Yarde (London Irish), Christian Wade (London Wasps) and Dan Robson (Gloucester Rugby) also come into the starting XV.
Head Coach Rob Hunter is keen to stress that the rotation policy is all part of having a squad, particularly at the Junior World Championship, where the games come thick and fast. “We’re very lucky to have such strength in depth across all positions within the squad,” he said. “It’s important that we rotate effectively so that we get the most out of these guys over the five games.
“Matt Kvesic has been named captain and he’s a player who leads from the front. He’s a natural leader in terms of his actions on the pitch and he’s very well supported by the players around him. We’re lucky again in the sense that we have players with good amounts of captaincy experience at their club sides and it all bodes well. It’s a great opportunity and a great honour for Matt, he deserves it, and I’m sure he’ll grab it with both hands.”
Hunter added: “Scotland will really come at us. We may have beaten them in the 6 Nations but out here it really is a different ball game. They will have improved since then, just as I hope we have, but they have a very strong set-piece and they’ll be a real challenge.”
England U20 starting XV
1) Ryan Bower (Leicester Tigers)
2) Rob Buchanan (Harlequins)
3) Will Collier (Harlequins)
4) Sam Twomey (Harlequins)
5) Joe Launchbury (London Wasps)
6) Matt Kvesic © (Worcester Warriors)
7) Matt Everard (Leicester Tigers)
8) Sam Jones (London Wasps)
15) Jonathan Joseph (London Irish)
14) Marland Yarde (London Irish)
13) Elliot Daly (London Wasps)
12) Ryan Mills (Gloucester Rugby)
11) Christian Wade (London Wasps)
10) Owen Farrell (Saracens)
9) Dan Robson (Gloucester Rugby)
Replacements:
16) Koree Britton (Gloucester Rugby)
17) Henry Thomas (Sale Sharks)
18) Charlie Matthews (Harlequins)
19) Alex Gray (Newcastle Falcons)
20) Chris Cook (Bath Rugby)
21) George Ford (Leicester Tigers)
22) Ben Ransom (Saracens)