Ollie Sleightholme is poised to make his first appearance in this year’s Six Nations Championship for England U20s, as the winger joins Northampton Saints teammates JJ Tonks and Manny Iyogun in the matchday 23 to face Scotland.
Head coach Alan Dickens has made four changes in total to his squad for the clash at Myreside in Edinburgh on Friday evening (kick-off 7.30pm), with 19-year-old Sleightholme coming in and hoping to make an impact off the bench.
“What impressed me on Saturday was our ability to adapt tactically and we know that will again be important against Scotland.”
Alan Dickens, England U20s Head Coach
He joins prop Iyogun amongst the replacements while flanker Tonks retains his place in the back row and will pack down for the Red Rose in the No.7 jersey.
England secured a 29-24 bonus-point victory over France in round one of the tournament, but Dickens believes another tough test awaits them north of the border.
“We’ve implemented a couple of new things ahead of the game and we know it is going to be another huge challenge that we have to take very seriously,” he said.
“The last time we played in Scotland they came out winners, so we’ll be well prepared for what awaits us on Friday. It will no doubt be another challenging environment, but the players have shown they can handle that and I’ve been impressed by how quickly they have gelled as a group.
“What impressed me on Saturday was our ability to adapt tactically and we know that will again be important against Scotland.”
England U20s play Ireland at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday 21 February, kick-off 7.45pm. CLICK HERE to book tickets now.
England U20s team to play Scotland
15 Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb (Bath Rugby)
13 Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks)
12 Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
11 Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
10 Manu Vunipola (Saracens)
9 Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs, captain)
1 James Whitcombe (Leicester Tigers)
2 Theo Dan (Saracens)
3 Harvey Beaton (Saracens
4 George Hammond (Harlequins)
5 Ben Donnell (London Irish)
6 Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs)
7 JJ Tonks (Northampton Saints)
8 Rusi Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)
Replacements:
16 Ben Atkins (London Irish)
17 Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints)
18 Luke Green (London Irish)
19 Hugh Tizard (Harlequins)
20 Josh Gray (Gloucester Rugby)
21 Jack Van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
22 George Barton (Gloucester Rugby)
23 Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
England U20s Six Nations fixtures and results
France 24-29 England
Scotland v England (Friday 7 February, KO 7.30pm GMT, Myreside, Edinburgh)
England v Ireland (Friday, 21 February, KO 7.45pm GMT, Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton. CLICK HERE to book tickets)
England v Wales (Friday, 6 March, KO 7.45pm GMT, Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester)
Italy v England (Sunday, 15 March, KO 5.30pm GMT, Payanini Rugby Center, Verona)
