RWC23 News Article Template
England U20 Men head coach Mark Mapletoft has named his side to face Georgia U20 for the second of their two-match tour.
Thursday's game will be the team’s final fixture ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship starting next month. In the series’ opening match on Saturday, England claimed a hard-fought 41-36 win.
- Kick off from Tbilisi - 1pm
- You can watch the game live
Leicester’s Lewis Chessum has been named captain and will be joined in the second row by Harvey Cuckson. Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Afolabi Fasogbon are England’s starting props with Finn Theobald-Thomas at hooker.
Finn Carnduff, Greg Fisilau and Chandler Cunningham-South form the back row. Charlie Bracken is at scrum half and Connor Slevin is named fly half, while outside them Joseph Woodward and Rekeiti Ma’asi-White make up the midfield.
Alex Wills and Jacob Cusick start on the wings and Joe Jenkins will wear the number 15 shirt. Nathan Jibulu, Ethan Clarke, James Halliwell, Zach Carr, Nathan Michelow, Nye Thomas, Benjamin Waghorn, Toby Thame and Louie Johnson are named as replacements.
"Our first match against Georgia was tough; they were physical in their tackles, and some of their tries showed they have as much strike power out wide as they do through the forwards," said Mapletoft.
"Equally though, I was really pleased with the composure our players showed to stay in the contest and close out the match. Our bench had a real impact. The players learned a lot from Saturday’s match, which is why we’re on this tour. Our attention now turns to game two for our final hit-out ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship and we know we’ll have to put together a more complete performance in two days’ time."
England U20 Men side
Starting
15. Joe Jenkins (Bristol Bears)
14. Jacob Cusick (Leicester Tigers)
13. Rekeiti Ma'asi-White (Sale Sharks)
12. Joseph Woodward (Leicester Tigers)
11. Alex Wills (Sale Sharks)
10. Connor Slevin (Harlequins)
9. Charlie Bracken (Saracens)
1. Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
2. Finn Theobald-Thomas (Gloucester)
3. Afolabi Fasogbon (London Irish)
4. Harvey Cuckson (Bath Rugby)
5. Lewis Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
6. Finn Carnduff (Leicester Tigers)
7. Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs)
8. Chandler Cunningham-South (London Irish)
Replacements
16. Nathan Jibulu (Harlequins)
17. Ethan Clarke (Harlequins)
18. James Halliwell (Bristol Bears)
19. Zach Carr (Harlequins)
20. Nathan Michelow (Saracens)
21. Nye Thomas (Sale Sharks)
22. Benjamin Waghorn (Harlequins)
23. Toby Thame (Northampton Saints)
24. Louie Johnson (Newcastle Falcons)
