England U20s have named their side to take on Wales in the final of the IRB Junior World Championship in France tomorrow.
Coaches Nick Walshe and Ian Peel have made two changes from the side that beat New Zealand 33-21 in the semi-final with Leicester‘s Tom Price coming in for the injured Elliott Stooke in the engine room and London Wasps prop Alec Hepburn replacing Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi who drops to the bench.
The meeting is the first all Northern Hemisphere final in JWC history but England go into the game with a phycological advantage having beaten the Welsh in the Six Nations 28-15 back in March.
Walshe said: “Wales are an excellent side – as they have shown throughout this competition and we’re fully aware that it’s going to be a tough game. We did well in the Six Nations to win at their place, but that game will have no bearing on the result.
“We have prepared well, we have recovered well after the New Zealand game – and we’re ready for what promises to be an excellent final.”
England U20s: Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs); Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Harry Sloan (Harlequins), Sam Hill (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Howard (Worcester Warriors); Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Alex Day (Northampton Saints); Alec Hepburn (London Wasps), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Scott Wilson (Newcastle Falcons); Tom Price (Leicester Tigers), Dominic Barrow (Leeds Carnegie); Ross Moriarty (Gloucester Rugby), Matt Hankin (Saracens), Jack Clifford (Harlequins, Capt.).
Replacements: Scott Spurling (Saracens), Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi (Northampton Saints), Tom Smallbone (London Irish), Harry Wells (Leicester Tigers), David Sisi (Bath Rugby), Callum Braley (Bristol Rugby), Ollie Devoto (Bath Rugby), Henry Purdy (Leicester Tigers).