U20

Eight changes as England look to end Under-20s Championship on a high

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Steve Bates has made eight changes to his England side for the final game of the 2019 Under-20s Six Nations against Scotland.

Steve Bates has made eight changes to his England side for the final game of the 2019 Under-20s Six Nations against Scotland.

The head coach has adjusted his team after they defeated Italy 35-10 last time out as they seek a second-place finish in the table.

Kai Owen, Samson Ma’asi and Joe Heyes come in to complete a new front row, while Alex Coles returns at lock.

Manu Vunipola starts at fly-half with Cameron Redpath and Ollie Lawrence named in midfield, while Arron Reed comes in on the wing.

Tom Willis continues at captain while Tom de Glanville will also switch to full-back for England.

On the bench hooker Alfie Barbeary, lock Jon Kpoku and scrum-half Gus Warr are in line for their England U20s debuts.

Bates’ side have won two and lost two of their four games so far in the Championship, defeating France and Italy.

He said: “We feel this Friday is a good opportunity to take a closer look at the players who have not had that much involvement during the tournament, while also including those that are returning from Premiership duty.

“We are mindful that making too many changes will be disruptive so we’ve tried to keep them to a minimum.

“We are still developing our game and have very clear goals in terms of what we want to achieve on the field in terms of performance.

“What we’re looking for on Friday is a bit more continuity in our play and more consistency in our performance in terms of looking after the ball and managing the game.”

England men U20s v Scotland (live on Sky Sports, kick-off 7.45pm, Friday 15 March)

15. Tom de Glanville (Bath Rugby) 14. Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish) 13. Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors) 12. Cameron Redpath (Sale Sharks) 11. Arron Reed (Sale Sharks) 10. Manu Vunipola (Saracens) 9. Ollie Fox (Yorkshire Carnegie)

1. Kai Owen (Worcester Warriors) 2. Samson Ma’asi (Northampton Saints) 3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers) 4. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints) 5. James Scott (Worcester Warriors) 6. Tom Willis (Wasps) 7. Aaron Hinkley (Gloucester Rugby) 8. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements

16. Alfie Barbeary (Wasps) 17. Olly Adkins (Gloucester Rugby) 18. Alfie Petch (Exeter Chiefs) 19. Jon Kpoku (Saracens) 20. Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs) 21. Gus Warr (Sale Sharks) 22. Kieran Wilkinson (Sale Sharks) 23. Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons)