Northampton Saints trio Craig Wright, Toby Thame and Archie McParland are all set to feature for England Under-19s on Friday, as Alan Dickens’ side take on Italy at Bedford Blues.
Hooker Wright and centre Thame scored a try apiece in England’s 60-14 win against Wales last week, while McParland joins the side after starring for England Under-18s in their Six Nations campaign.
Head coach Dickens said: “This is our second clash in as many weeks, after our match against Wales last week in Bristol. It was a pleasing result for us but even better was seeing these players develop and perform at the international level in their own age group.
“We have a number of players who were either part of the team that faced Italy in the Under-20 Six Nations or played in this same fixture last year at Verona. There are shared learnings from those experiences with the group.
“Tonight’s match against the Azzurri is another opportunity and a challenge. They take to the pitch with passion, play expansive rugby with a strong set piece and maul focus, and their players gel well having played a lot of rugby together.”
The match will be streamed on the England Rugby YouTube channel. Tickets are still available online, starting at £10 for adults and £1 for children.
England Under-19 side to face Italy
15 Ben Redshaw (Newcastle Falcons)
14 Alex Wills (Sale Sharks)
13 Toby Thame (Northampton Saints)
12 Sean Kerr (Harlequins)
11 Tobias Elliott (Saracens)
10 Sam Harris (Bath)
9 Ollie Allan (London Irish)
1 Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)
2 Craig Wright (Northampton Saints)
3 Afolabi Fasogbon (London Irish)
4 Harvey Cuckson (Bath)
5 Joe Bailey (Exeter Chiefs)
6 Nathan Michelow (Saracens)
7 Tristan Woodman (Sale)
8 Zach Carr (Harlequins)
Replacements:
16 James Isaacs (Saracens)
17 Scott Kirk (Bath)
18 James Halliwell (Bristol Bears)
19 Harry Browne (Harlequins)
20 Patrick Pearce (Bristol Bears)
21 Archie McParland (Northampton Saints)
22 Josh Bellamy (Harlequins)
23 Ludo Kolade (Harlequins)
24. George Makepeace-Cubitt (London Irish)
25. Aaron Tull (Bristol Bears)
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