Toby Thame and Craig Wright could both make their full England Under-20s debuts this Thursday, with the Northampton Saints duo selected by the Red Rose for their World Rugby Under-20 Championship clash against Fiji.
Head coach Mark Mapletoft named his team this evening for England’s second match of the tournament in South Africa, following a 34-34 draw against Ireland in their opener against Ireland.
The game kicks off at 6pm BST (7pm local) on Thursday 29 June at Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch, and will be streamed on the World Rugby digital channels – while ITV will also broadcast highlights from each matchday.
Both Thame and Wright were involved for England in the side’s uncapped warm-up fixtures against Georgia earlier this summer, but are set to earn their first caps at Under-20s level this week.
Inside centre Thame starts the showdown with Fiji, while hooker Wright is named amongst the replacements.
Mapletoft said: “We were really pleased with the things the team did well in our game against Ireland on Saturday, particularly with how we built upon our performances from the Six Nations.
“We’ve taken learnings on board from the match and have now shifted our attention to Fiji, who gave the Australians a real crack in their tournament opener.
“With only a five-day turnaround between fixtures, our players have prioritised their recovery well. We’ve named a number of debutants for Thursday’s match, so congratulations to those five lads and all others selected.”
England Under-20s team to face Fiji
15 Louie Johnson (Newcastle Falcons)
14 Jacob Cusick (Leicester Tigers)
13 Joe Jenkins (Bristol Bears)
12 Toby Thame* (Northampton Saints)
11 Alex Wills* (Sale Sharks)
10 Connor Slevin (Harlequins)
9 Nye Thomas (Sale Sharks)
1 Archie McArthur (Gloucester)
2 Nathan Jibulu (Harlequins)
3 James Halliwell (Bristol Bears)
4 Finn Carnduff (Captain, Leicester Tigers)
5 Harry Browne (Harlequins)
6 Nathan Michelow (Saracens)
7 Tristan Woodman (Sale Sharks)
8 Zach Carr* (Harlequins)
Replacements:
16 Craig Wright* (Northampton Saints)
17 Ethan Clarke* (Harlequins)
18 Afolabi Fasogbon
19 Lewis Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
20 Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs)
21 Charlie Bracken (Saracens)
22 Cassius Cleaves (Harlequins)
23 Tobias Elliott (Saracens)
* Denotes England Under-20s debut
