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England debutants excite Hunter ahead of Scotland clash

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England Under-20 head coach Rob Hunter has warned his sideScotland will be highly-motivated to cause an upset this weekend, as he names five debutants in the starting XV.

England Under-20 head coach Rob Hunter has warned his sideScotland will be highly-motivated to cause an upset this weekend, as he names five debutants in the starting XV.

Jack Clifford will captain the side while wings Ben Howard and Jack Arnott, centre Harry Sloan and flankers Ross Moriarty and Joel Conlon will all make their first appearances for the Red Rose at this level.

In last year’s RBS 6 Nations, England recorded an emphatic 59-3 away victory over their Scottish rivals on their way to the title, but Hunter is wary of a backlash.

And with the match taking place at Plymouth Albion, home to 19-year-old Arnott, Hunter can’t wait to see what his new-look side can produce tomorrow evening.

“We’re all very excited about getting the competition underway,” said Hunter. “The lads have worked hard and we’re looking forward to see them perform in the white jersey.

“It’s great to have some local boys playing at Plymouth, I’m sure that they can’t wait to get out there. We know that Scotland are well-coached, well-organised and highly-motivated and it’ll be a tough game.”

And Arnott, currently part of the Exeter Chiefs Academy, added: “I’m really looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd.

“I’ve got some family coming down and I’m sure it’ll be a great occasion. We’re expecting a tough, physical game from Scotlandbut at the moment we’re just concentrating on ourselves.”

ENGLAND U20

15 Anthony Watson 14 Jack Arnott 13 Harry Sloan 12 Sam Hill 11 Ben Howard 10 Henry Slade 9 Alex Day

1 Luke Cowan-Dickie 2 Max Crumpton 3 Kyle Sinckler 4 Elliott Stooke 5 Dom Barrow 6 Ross Moriarty 7 Joel Conlon 8 Jack Clifford

REPLACEMENTS

16 Danny Herriott 17 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi 18 Scott Wilson 19 Tom Jubb 20 Gus Jones 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Will Hooley 23 Mark Jennings