Henry Pollock starts for England Under-18s tomorrow afternoon against Italy, with Reuben Logan and Archie McParland both named on the bench for the Red Rose.
Head coach Jonathan Pendlebury has rung the changes for the Six Nations Festival clash in Dublin (which kicks off at 3.15pm), following a narrow opening 23-22 defeat to France on Saturday afternoon.
The trio of young Saints have all signed senior contracts with the men in Black, Green and Gold for next season, and will look to put their best foot forward on the international stage in Wednesday’s match before also meeting Ireland on Sunday 16 April (kick-off: 4.30pm) – and Saints Under-18s head coach Will Parkin also remains with the group in his role as Attack Coach.
Pendlebury said: “Our match against France was very competitive, and while we lost by the barest of margins, there were many positives to come from the pitch.
“The lads expressed themselves well in open play and there were also encouraging moves from set piece.
“The Six Nations Festival is a great environment for the England players to develop individually and as a team, so they’ll take away a lot of experience from that opening clash. We’re now focused on our second-round fixture tomorrow.
“Italy won their opening match by punishing Wales for their mistakes. We also know they can score from anywhere, so it’s critical we play well as a unit and the players give it their all for teammates and country.”
All fixtures at the festival will be streamed live on Six Nations’ digital channels – with supporters able to watch Wednesday’s clash with Italy HERE.
Players selected in the Under-18 Men’s Six Nations Festival squad must be born on or after 1 January 2005.
At the 2023 festival, men’s teams will play three standalone 70-minute fixtures, with every player looking to start at least one game with rolling substitutions throughout to ensure the best development opportunity for the athletes across the festival.
England Under-18s side to face Italy
15 Ben Redshaw (Newcastle Falcons, Sedbergh School)
14 Charlie Griffin (London Irish, Harrow School)
13 Ollie Davies (Sale Sharks, Kirkham Grammar)
12 Charlie Myall (Midlands Central, City of Oxford College)
11 Conor Byrne (Harlequins, Trinity School)
10 Josh Bellamy (Harlequins, Trinity School)
9 Lucas Friday (Harlequins, Trinity School)
1 Ralph McEachran (London Irish, The Bishop Wand School)
2 Kepueli Tuipulotu (London Irish, Harrow School)
3 Billy Sela (Bath Rugby, Beechen Cliff)
4 Oscar Beckerleg (Exeter Chiefs, Truro College)
5 Tom Burrow (Yorkshire Academy, Heckmondwike GS)
6 George Timmins (Bath Rugby, Millfield School)
7 Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, Stowe School)
8 Jack Lightbown (Sale Sharks, The Sixth Form Bolton)
Replacements:
16 Jacob Oliver (Newcastle Falcons, Barnard Castle School)
17 Louie Trevett (Bristol Bears, Clifton College)
18 Tye Raymont (Yorkshire Academy, Bishop Burton College)
19 Junior Kpoku (Finborough School)
20 Reuben Logan (Northampton Saints, Berkhamsted School)
21 Will Owen (Midlands West, Ellesmere College)
22 Archie McParland (Northampton Saints, Stowe School)
23 Tom Threlfall (Leicester Tigers, Nottingham High)
24 Toby Baker (Yorkshire Academy, St Peters School)
25 Jack Bracken (Saracens, St Albans School)
26 Ned McCormack (Yorkshire Academy, Woodhouse Grove)
