Northampton Saints Academy players Charlie Tamani and Aiden Reid will start for England U18s against France on Tuesday (12 August, kick-off: 2:30pm BST) at Boland Landbou in Paarl, with Jack Lewis, Hugh Shields and Sonny Goode all set to come off the bench.
All five players were named for England in their 35-31 defeat in the series opener against Georgia, but this will be Reid’s first start of the series.
Tamani is one of the three starting players who was involved in the 29-27 victory in England’s previous meeting with France in the 2025 U18 Six Nations Festival in Vichy.
Head coach Jonathan Pendlebury said: “Georgia presented a challenge that tested our players’ resolve, and we’ve taken many positive learnings from that experience.
“The nature of the schedule means we must adapt quickly, and we’ve mentally and physically prepared for the next task in France.
“Under the banner of collective development, we want our players to continue to be daring and explore their boundaries.”
All International Series fixtures will be streamed live on SuperSport Schools.
England vs France
Tuesday 12 August, 2025
Boland Landbou, Paarl
Kick-off: 2:30pm (BST)
15 Ajay Edwards (Newcastle Falcons, Durham School, Peterlee and Horden Rugby Club and Durham City, 2 caps)
14 Will Payton (Leicester Tigers, Warwick School, Silhillians Rugby Club, 1 cap)
13 Krystof Wood (Gloucester Rugby, Bromsgrove School, Bromsgrove Rugby Club, 1 cap)
12 Ollie Batson (Exeter Chiefs, Exeter School, Exmouth RFC, 1 cap)
11 Charlie Tamani (Northampton Saints, Finborough School, Bury St. Edmunds RUFC, 5 caps)
10 Oscar Talbot (Leicester Tigers, Rugby School, Barkers Butts RFC, 5 caps)
9 Will Bayston (Sale Sharks, Sedbergh School, Selby RUFC, 1 cap)
1 Aiden Reid (Northampton Saints, Northampton School for Boys, Olney RFC, 2 caps)
2 Marcus Southwell (Leicester Tigers, Oakham School, Market Harborough RFC, 1 cap)
3 Seva Batikora (Leicester Tigers, Brooksby College, Stamford Rugby, 1 cap)
4 Freddie Jones (Saracens, Sutton Valence School, Tunbridge Wells RFC, 1 cap)
5 Henry Laidlow (c) (Harlequins, Trinity School, Twickenham RFC, 5 caps)
6 Henry Horsfall (Gloucester Rugby, Kings Worcester, Clee Hill RUFC, 1 cap)
7 AJ Henry (Saracens, Mill Hill, Dartford Valley Rugby Club, 1 cap)
8 Jordan Ikeh (Sale Sharks, Stockport Grammar, Stockport Rugby Club, 1 cap)
Replacements:
16 Casper Wheeler (Bristol Bears, Hartpury College, Winscombe RFC, 1 cap)
17 Oliver Spencer (Sale Sharks, Grammar School at Leeds, Harrogate RUFC, 5 caps)
18 Lawrence Ogbonnaya (Sale Sharks, Kirkham Grammar School, Winnington Park Rugby Club, 1 cap)
19 Kwame Bekoe (Leicester Tigers, Norwich School, Norwich Rugby Club, 1 cap)
20 Charlie Bray (Sale Sharks, Kirkham Grammar School, Preston Grasshoppers RFC, 3 caps)
21 Jack Lewis (Northampton Saints, Northampton School for Boys, Ashby RFC, 3 caps)
22 James Townsend (Leicester Tigers, Warwick School, Harbury RFC, 3 caps)
23 Hugh Shields (Northampton Saints, Northampton School for Boys, Old Northamptonians RFC, 4 caps)
24 Declan Treacey (Bath Rugby, Beechen Cliff School, New Milton Rugby Club, 4 caps
25 Sonny Goode (Northampton Saints, Bloxham School, Banbury Rugby Club, 1 cap)
26 Junior Denny (Gloucester Rugby, Bloxham School, Banbury Rugby Club, 5 caps)
