Three London Irish players have been included in the England U20 squad to take on Scotland on Friday in Myreside, Edinburgh (kick-off 7:30pm GMT). Ben Donnell is in the starting XV, with Ben Atkins and Luke Green among the replacements.

Head coach Alan Dickens has made two changes to the side that defeated France in their opening fixture of the U20 Six Nations Championship.

Harvey Beaton replaces Luke Green in the front row, while Freddie Steward comes in for injured Josh Hodge at full back.

There are two changes among the replacements also, Josh Gray coming in for Jack Clement, while Ollie Sleightholme is also named as a finisher.

England men U20s sealed a 29-24 bonus-point victory over France in round one of the tournament.

The side are led by head coach Dickens, who is supported by Alex Codling (forwards) and James Tirrell (backs).

Alan Dickens said: “The players have recovered well after a physical game in France on Saturday, analysed the match, and we’ve had a good week’s preparation ahead of Friday’s fixture.

“We’ve implemented a couple of new things ahead of the game and we know it is going to be another huge challenge that we have to take very seriously.

“The last time we played in Scotland they came out winners so we’ll be well prepared for what awaits us on Friday. It will no doubt be another challenging environment, but the players have shown they can handle that and I’ve been impressed by how quickly they have gelled as a group.

“There are always areas to work on and improve, but this is a new group, we had nine debutants at U20s level start last Saturday’s game so this team will only get better the more they play together and I’m expecting an improvement in Edinburgh on Friday.

“What impressed me on Saturday was our ability to adapt tactically and we know that will again be important against Scotland.”

England men U20s team to play Scotland

15 Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb (Bath Rugby)
13 Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks)
12 Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
11 Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
10 Manu Vunipola (Saracens)
9 Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs) - captain

1 James Whitcombe (Leicester Tigers)
2 Theo Dan (Saracens)
3 Harvey Beaton (Saracens)
4 George Hammond (Harlequins)
5 Ben Donnell (London Irish)
6 Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs)
7 JJ Tonks (Northampton Saints)
8 Rusi Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements

16 Ben Atkins (London Irish)
17 Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints)
18 Luke Green (London Irish)
19 Hugh Tizard (Harlequins)
20 Josh Gray (Gloucester Rugby)
21 Jack Van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
22 George Barton (Gloucester Rugby)
23 Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)

England men U20s Six Nations fixtures and results

France 24-29 England

Scotland v England
Friday 7 February, KO 7.30pm GMT, Myreside, Edinburgh

England v Ireland
Friday 21 February, KO 7.45pm GMT, Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton. Live on Sky Sports

Tickets: englandrugby.com/tickets

England v Wales
Friday 6 March, KO 7.45pm GMT, Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester. Live on Sky Sports.

Tickets: englandrugby.com/tickets

Italy v England
Sunday 15 March, KO 5.30pm GMT, Payanini Rugby Center, Verona

 

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