England U20s make one change for Grand Slam clash against Italy
CARDIFF, WALES - JULY 01: Dan Lancaster of England looks to break past Cathal Forde of Ireland during the Round Three of the U20 Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and England at Cardiff Arms Park on July 01, 2021 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)
England U20 conclude their Six Nations campaign with a first title in four years well within their sights.
Unbeaten so far in the tournament, head coach Alan Dickens has made only one change for Tuesday’s match against Italy with Tommy Mathews replacing Fin Smith at fly-half.
England made it four wins from four last week with a dominant 45-3 win over Wales, and now face an Italy side that has ran France close and thrashed Scotland.
Jack van Poortvliet leads again from scrum-half, with England knowing they only have to avoid defeat to claim the trophy.
“I think the players have really grown together as a group throughout the competition,” said Dickens. “Each week we have asked them to go out and improve on the previous performance and each time they’ve done that.
“We know the Italians are a tough outfit and I think they have been excellent so far in this competition. I’m sure they’ll be looking to take their first-half performance from their game against Ireland and build on that going into our game and we need to be prepared for that.
“This will be the last time this group of players takes to the pitch together and I want them to go out, put in a good performance, enjoy the moment and take away some special memories from our time here in Cardiff.”
Only Ireland can catch England at the top of the standings, but they will need to rely on a large points difference swing in their favour if they are to beat France with a bonus point victory, while also hoping Italy deny England any points.
Azzurrini head coach Massimo Brunello has made six changes for their last outing.
Fabio Schiabel, Mattia Ferrarin, Alessandro Garbisi, Giovanni Cenedese, Fabrizio Boschetti and Matteo Baldelli are all included from the start this time around, after their 30-23 defeat to Ireland.
England U20: 15 Orlando Bailey, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Jack Bates, 12 Dan Lancaster, 11 Arthur Relton, 10 Tommy Mathews, 9 Jack van Poortvliet (c); 1 Fin Baxter, 2 Sam Riley, 3 Harvey Kindell-Beaton, 4 Arthur Clark, 5 Alex Groves, 6 Ewan Richards, 7 Jack Clement, 8 Nahum Merigan
Replacements: 16 Archie Vanes, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Luke Green, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Josh Gray, 21 Ollie Stonham, 22 Tom Carr-Smith, 23 Fin Smith, 24 Phil Cokanasiga, 25 Deago Bailey, 26 Charlie Atkinson
Italy U20: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Tommaso Menoncello, 13 Filippo Drago, 12 Fabio Schiabel, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Mattia Ferrarin, 9 Alessandro Garbisi; 1 Luca Rizzoli, 2 Matteo Baldelli, 3 Ion Neculai, 4 Fabrizio Boschetti, 5 Nicolo Piantella, 6 Luca Andreani, 7 Giovanni Cenedese, 8 Lorenzo Cannone
Replacements: 16 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Valerio Bizzotto, 19 Giacomo Ferrari, 20 Ross Micheal Vintcent, 21 Manfredi Albanese, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Flavio Rio Vaccari, 24 Andrea Angelone, 25 Giulio Marucchini, 26 Michele Brighetti
