England U20s have named their side to take on Italy in their opening game of the IRB Junior World Championship in Auckland tomorrow.
The defending champions last faced the Azzurri in their final game of the Six Nations, winning 52-5, but Head Coach Nick Walshe says that that result will have no bearing on this game.
He said: “We’re looking forward to kicking off this campaign, we’ve been in New Zealand for over a week now – the lads are acclimatised and have trained well. They’ve taken real ownership and can’t wait to get out there.
“We did well against Italy in the Six Nations but that game has gone, we’re focused on performing well in this game and kick-starting our JWC. “
Captain Callum Braley added: “We’ve enjoyed our first week in Auckland but now it’s time to get down to business. We’re excited about the next five games – there’s pressure on us, but we have to use that to our advantage and perform as well as we can.”
The game will be shown live on Sky Sports at 06.35am.
England U20s: Aaron Morris (Bedford); George Catchpole (Leicester), Nick Tompkins (Saracens), Harry Sloan (Harlequins), Nathan Earle (Saracens); Sam Olver (Northampton), Callum Braley (Bristol, Capt.); Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi (Northampton), Tom Woolstencroft (Bath), Paul Hill (Leeds); Maro Itoje (Saracens), Tom Ellis (Bath); Ross Moriarty (Gloucester), Gus Jones (London Wasps), James Chisholm (Harlequins).
Replacements: Jack Walker (Leeds), Alex Lundberg (London Wasps), Biyi Alo (Saracens), Charlie Ewels (Bath), Joel Conlon (Exeter), Henry Taylor (Loughborough University), Billy Burns (Gloucester), Henry Purdy (Leicester).
Italy U20s: Matteo GASPARINI; Daniele DI GIULIO, Gabriele MANGANIELLO, Samuel SENO, Filippo LOMBARDO; Filippo BUSCEMA (Capt.), Simone PARISOTTO; Derrick APPIAH, Daniele ADRIANO, Paolo BUONFIGLIO; Riccardo MICHIELETTO, Filippo SCALVI; Matteo ARCHETTI, Renato GIAMMARIOLI, Andrea TROTTA.
Replacements: Cherif TRAORE, Marco SILVA, Simone Pietro FERRARI, Marco LAZZARONI, Matteo CORNELLI, Maicol AZZOLINI, Giacomo DE SANTIS, Gabriele DI GIULIO
