Preview - England Under 20 v Scotland Under 20
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The action comes thick and fast in the Six Nations Under-20s and a great rivalry resumes on Friday afternoon when England and Scotland do battle in a mouth-watering contest.
England are riding a wave of momentum after they rallied from a 19-3 half-time deficit to beat France 38-22 in an opening-day thriller last Saturday.
Meanwhile, Scotland have ground to make up after their 38-7 defeat to Ireland but form goes out of the window in derby matches and neither side will give an inch at Cardiff Arms Park in what is always one of the fixtures of the Championship.
TEAM NEWS
England have made four changes to the side that beat France last weekend.
Emeka Ilione makes his first start at U20 level in the No.6 jersey, as do Phil Brantingham at loose-head prop and Sam Riley at hooker. Harvey Kindell-Beaton completes the front row at tighthead.
The backline is unchanged and Jack van Poortvliet again captains the side from scrum-half.
Scotland have made seven changes to their side, with No.8 Ben Muncaster taking the captain’s armband in place of Alex Samuel, who starts from the bench.
Scotland have made two changes in their front row, with props Michael Jones and George Breese coming into the side, while lock Euan Ferrie partners Max Williamson.
Rory Jackson and Ollie Leatherbarrow offer fresh legs at flanker, while there are a pair of familiar names at half-back as Murray Redpath, Bryan’s son, and Christian Townsend, Gregor’s son, start together at No.9 and No.10. Ross McKnight also comes in on the right wing.
WHAT THEY SAID
England U20s head coach Alan Dickens said: “It’s been a good week preparing for Friday’s match and the players have recovered well after a physical game against France last weekend.
“We’ve made a few changes in the forwards for this match. I was impressed with the impact that those four players had when they came on last week and wanted to give them starts this time out.
“We were fortunate to have a couple of training matches against Scotland in Newcastle a few weeks ago which was really helpful and we know they will pose a challenge. But it’s also about focusing on ourselves and ensuring we are ready to play what’s in front of us.
“The players are coming together well as a group. We had 12 U20 debutants in the starting line-up for the last match, but I was very impressed with the way they handled themselves particularly coming back from 19-3 down.
“The players worked out where they needed to tactically adapt and they did it. We know that will again be important when we play Scotland.”
Scotland U20s head coach Sean Lineen said: “The team learned a lot from the game against Ireland last weekend. For some players that was their first taste of international rugby, as well as learnings there were a number of positives to take from the first-half performance.
“The squad have trained really well this week. Several players have put their hands up and moved into starting positions with others getting their first opportunity to be involved.
“We know England will look to play deep from their own half, which we are prepared for.”
KEY BATTLE – Jack van Poortvliet v Murray Redpath
The battle at scrum-half will be crucial on Friday and the two sides boast exciting players looking to dictate the flow of the game.
England captain Jack van Poortvliet will take great confidence from the way his side stormed from behind to beat France last week, while he is in great personal form after bagging the Six Nations Player of the Match award.
But he faces another tough task against Murray Redpath, a livewire at scrum-half who impressed against Ireland despite being on the wrong end of the 38-7 scoreline.
TEAMS
England: Orlando Bailey, Deago Bailey, Jack Bates, Dan Lancaster, Arthur Relton, Fin Smith, Jack van Poortvliet (c), Phil Brantingham, Sam Riley, Harvey Kindell-Beaton, Ewan Richards, Alex Groves, Emeka Ilione, Lucas Brooke, Jack Clement
Replacements: John Stewart, Tarek Haffar, Luke Green, Arthur Clark, Harry Taylor, Nahum Merigan, Raffi Quirke, Tommy Mathews, Phil Cokanasiga, Tom Litchfield, Charlie Atkinson
Scotland: Elliott Gourlay, Ross McKnight, Scott King, Cameron Scott, Michael Gray, Christian Townsend, Murray Redpath, Michael Jones, Patrick Harrison, George Breese, Max Williamson, Euan Ferrie, Rory Jackson, Ollie Leatherbarrow, Ben Muncaster (C)
Replacements: Jamie Drummond, Tom Banatvala, Olly Frostick, Alex Samuel, Rhys Tait, Euan Cunningham, Thomas Glendinning, Ollie Melville, Adam Scott, Finlay Callaghan, Alex Clayton.
