England U20s head coach Alan Dickens has named his side ahead of the U20 Six Nations Championship opener against France at Stade des Alpes, Grenoble (kick off 8pm GMT), with Northampton Saints' JJ Tonks and Emmanuel Iyogun named among the matchday 23.
19-year-old Tonks will claim his first cap at U20s level as he starts within the back row in Grenoble, while Iyogun – also 19 – has linked up with the EPS this week and will be hoping to make his first England age-grade appearance if he enters the action from the bench.
Head coach Dickens said: "There is a huge challenge ahead for us on Saturday against a France side who are back-to-back World Rugby U20 Champions and they will be under pressure to perform in front of their home supporters.
"I've coached teams to play in France before and this will be a great experience for the players. It is usually a hostile atmosphere, they are hugely patriotic when it comes to rugby, and we are expecting no different in Grenoble.
"The attitude, skill level and commitment of the players in the time we've had together has been fantastic and I'm looking forward to seeing them put all that hard work into an 80 minute performance on Saturday."
Dickens' squad will return to Franklin’s Gardens with the Red Rose for the first time on Friday 21 February, as England host Ireland for their third clash of the tournament – tickets are available now and can be purchased by CLICKING HERE.
ENGLAND U20s SIDE TO FACE FRANCE
2020 U20 Six Nations Championship
Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
Kick-off: 8pm (GMT)
15 Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons)
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 – captain (Exeter Chiefs)
1 James Whitcombe (Leicester Tigers)
2 Theo Dan (Saracens)
3 Luke Green (London Irish)
4 George Hammond (Harlequins)
5 Ben Donnell (London Irish)
6 JJ Tonks (Northampton Saints)
7 Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs)
8 Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)
Replacements:
16 Ben Atkins (London Irish)
17 Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints)
18 Harvey Beaton (Saracens)
19 Hugh Tizard (Harlequins)
20 Jack Clement (Gloucester Rugby)
21 Jack Van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
22 George Barton (Gloucester Rugby)
23 Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
ENGLAND U20s FIXTURES
France v England
Saturday, 1 February, KO 8pm GMT, Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
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. Live on Sky Sports
Tickets: www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/buytickets
England v Wales
Friday, 6 March, KO 7.45pm GMT, Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester. Live on Sky Sports.
Italy v England
Sunday, 15 March, KO 5.30pm GMT, Payanini Rugby Center, Verona
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