England U20 have named four Northampton Saints players in their starting line-up for Friday night’s 2026 Under-20 Men’s Six Nations Championship clash with Scotland.
James Pater, Oliver Scola and Aiden Ainsworth-Cave retain their spots at fullback, loosehead prop and blindside flanker respectively for the Round 2 encounter at Hive Stadium, Edinburgh (kick-off: 7.15pm).
Having impressed with a near full-game outing from the bench on his England U20 debut in the Round 1 19-16 win over Wales at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, Sonny Tonga’uiha earns a start at tighthead prop.
“We found our spark in the second half against Wales and you could feel the belief shift across the squad after putting ourselves in a challenging position,” assistant coach Kevin Sorrell said.
“The players didn’t chase the game emotionally, they recognised what was needed to build momentum and convert into points. It was a big step in their development as a group.
“Going up to Scotland is always a test that demands a committed, concentrated performance. If we build on our fundamentals that allowed us to work our way back into the game, we’ll give ourselves an opportunity to keep pushing our high standards forward.”
The England U20 announcement follows the England senior squad picking seven Saints players in the matchday team of 23 to take on Scotland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday.
ENGLAND U20 SQUAD VS SCOTLAND
Friday 12 February 2026
The Hive Stadium
Kick-off: 7.15pm
15 James Pater (Northampton Saints, Shelford RFC, 1 cap)
14 Sam Winters (Bath Rugby, Henley Hawks, uncapped)
13 Nick Lilley (Exeter Chiefs, Ivybridge RFC, 9 caps)
12 Victor Worsnip (Bristol Bears, Bank of England RFC, 1 cap)
11 George Pearson (Leicester Tigers, Buckingham RFC, 4 caps)
10 Finn Keylock (Saracens, Marlow RUFC, uncapped)
9 Lucas Friday (Harlequins, Bromley RFC, 9 caps)
1 Oliver Scola (Northampton Saints, Old Northamptonians RFC, 10 caps)
2 Jimmy Staples (Harlequins, Worthing Rugby Club, 1 cap)
3 Sonny Tonga’uiha (Northampton Saints, Old Northamptonians RFC, 1 cap)
4 Elliot Williams (Harlequins, 1 cap)
5 Patrick Hogg (Sale Sharks, Blaydon Rugby Club, 1 cap)
6 Aiden Ainsworth-Cave (Northampton Saints, Bedford Junior Blues, 10 caps)
7 Seb Kelly (Sale Sharks, Rochdale RUFC, 3 caps)
8 Connor Treacey (C) (Bath Rugby, New Milton Rugby Club, 8 caps)
Replacements:
16 Kealan Freeman-Price (Gloucester Rugby, Drybrook RFC, uncapped)
17 Oliver Spencer (Sale Sharks, Harrogate RUFC, 1 cap)
18 Harry Wright (Gloucester Rugby, Alcester, uncapped)
19 Freddie Ogden-Metherell (Gloucester Rugby, Lydney RFC, uncapped)
20 George Marsh (Leicester Tigers, Holt RFC, 1 cap)
21 Asa Stewart-Harris (Saracens, Old Albanians, uncapped)
22 Will Knight (Gloucester Rugby, Longlevens RFC, 5 caps)
23 Tyler Offiah (Bath Rugby, Ealing Trailfinders, 3 caps)