England U20 Men's side to face Ireland

6 Mar 2024 | 4 min |

England U20 Men's side to face Ireland

Mark Mapletoft has named his match day 23 to face Ireland in Bath on Friday night.

Finn Carnduff contributed one of four tries at the Hive Stadium to overcome Scotland 30-17 in round three, with team mate Sean Kerr registering 15 points in a Player of the Match performance.

Streamed live on BBC Sport
Kick off in Bath at 19:15

Ben Waghorn, Jacob Oliver, Olamide Sodeke and Junior Kpoku are welcomed back into the starting XV following England’s victory in Edinburgh.

Uncapped Saracens hooker James Isaacs is in line for his first England U20 cap as a replacement, with James Halliwell and Oli Spencer also returning to the match day squad.

Richie Murphy’s Ireland join England as the remaining two unbeaten teams in the tournament this year, putting bonus-point performances in against France and Wales.

Just one point and a table spot separate the sides with Mapletoft’s men accruing maximum points from their opening outings against Italy, Wales and Scotland. England and Ireland have both scored 13 tries so far in 2024.

Squad to face Ireland

Starting

15. Ben Redshaw (Newcastle Falcons, West Park Leeds RFC, 3 caps)

14. Toby Cousins (Northampton Saints, Bugbrooke RFC, 4 caps)

13. Ben Waghorn (Harlequins, Chipstead Rugby Club, 5 caps)

12. Sean Kerr (Harlequins, Effingham and Leatherhead RFC, 2 caps)

11. Alex Wills (Sale Sharks, Stourbridge Rugby, 6 caps)

10. Josh Bellamy (Harlequins, Rosslyn Park, 2 caps)

9. Archie McParland (Northampton Saints, Ruthin RFC, 2 caps)

1. Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks, Broadstreet RFC, 12 caps)

2. Jacob Oliver (Newcastle Falcons, Barnard Castle Rugby Club, 3 caps)

3. Billy Sela (Bath Rugby, Royal Wooten Bassett RFC, 3 caps)

4. Olamide Sodeke (Saracens, Blackheath Rugby, 2 caps)

5. Junior Kpoku (Racing 92, Saracens Amateurs, 2 caps)

6. Finn Carnduff (c) (Leicester Tigers, Market Harborough RFC, 13 caps)

7. Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, Banbury RFC, 3 caps)

8. Nathan Michelow (Saracens, Coopers Company and Coborn School, 8 caps)

Replacements

16. James Isaacs (Saracens, Hemel Hempstead Camelot RFC, uncapped)

17. Scott Kirk (Bath Rugby, Michaelhouse College, 3 caps)

18. James Halliwell (Bristol Bears, Thornbury Broncos Rugby Club, 7 caps)

19. Zach Carr (Harlequins, Ironsides Rugby Club, 4 caps)

20. Kane James (Exeter Chiefs, St Peters RFC, 2 caps)

21. Ben Douglas (Newcastle Falcons, Northern Football Club, 3 caps)

22. George Makepeace-Cubitt (Rams RFC, Reading Abbey RFC, 2 caps)

23. Oli Spencer (Newcastle Falcons, Epping Rams Rugby, 2 caps)

Head to Head

Mapletoft on selection

“England and Ireland have had some battles in recent times and this fixture is one that I’m sure our fans have been anticipating since it was announced last year.

“The support we received in our last outing at the Rec was second to none, and the fact we’re anticipating an even bigger crowd this weekend only adds to what promises to be a memorable occasion.

“Richie is a coach I have great respect for. He and his staff have built a very impressive programme and we look forward to welcoming them this Friday to write another chapter.”