England U20s head coach Mark Mapletoft has named his 30-man squad, that have assembled in South Africa for the 2024 U20 World Championships. England are the reigning U20 Six Nations champions, are are looking to add another piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet over the coming weeks.
England have not won the U20 World Championship since 2016, yet they are looking like a formidable side heading into the opening weekend. Mapletoft’s men take on Argentina for their opening game in Pool C (June 29th), before taking on Pacific Islanders Fiji (July 4th) and the tournament hosts South Africa (July 9th).
The England U20s class of 2016 contained an assortment of future England internationals; Jack Willis (Toulouse), Max Malins (Bristol Bears), Joe Marchant (Stade Francais), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), and Jack Singleton (Harlequins), among others, as well as Wales’ Johnny Williams (Scarlets). This memorable cohort beat an Ireland side in the final that featured Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Hugo Keenan, and Jacob Stockdale.
Mapletoft has named seven uncapped players, including the son of 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Kyran Bracken, fullback Jack Bracken. The septet of uncapped hopefuls includes Leicester Tigers’ Cameron Miell and Ollie Allan, Bath’s Arthur Green, Exeter Chiefs’ Benjamien Coen, Lucas Friday, Angus Hall, Theo Judd and the aforementioned Bracken.
These seven players were all involved in recent a victory against Championship outfit Coventry, as well as in back-to-back wins against Georgia. However, these matches were not recognised as official U20s Tests, so the players have not yet been bestowed with their long awaited caps.
Speaking at the announcement of the squad, Mapletoft said: “Over the last month, we’ve had a block of preparation that has helped our development and planning for the upcoming Championship. “
“Recent fixtures against Coventry and Georgia have also afforded us the opportunity to integrate new faces into the fold, seven of which are set for their first competitive caps this summer. I’d like to congratulate Arthur, Cam, Ollie, Jack, Ben, Lucas and Angus and thank them and the squad as whole for their impressive work put in recently. “
“Our pool stage fixtures are an exciting bill of opponents with varying styles and approaches to the game that will test our capabilities in a short turnaround between matchdays. The players, staff and I are excited to make the country proud.”
England U20 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship Squad:
Forwards
Joe Bailey (Exeter Chiefs, 5 caps)
Finn Carnduff (Leicester Tigers, 15, captain)
Harvey Cuckson (Bath, 2)
Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester, 11)
Arthur Green (Bath, uncapped)
James Halliwell (Bristol Bears, 10)
James Isaacs (Saracens, 3)
Kane James (Exeter Chiefs, 4)
Junior Kpoku (Racing 92, 4)
Nathan Michelow (Saracens, 10 caps)
Cameron Miell (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Jacob Oliver (Newcastle Falcons, 5)
Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks, 14)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, 5)
Billy Sela (Bath, 6)
Olamide Sodeke (Saracens, 4)
Craig Wright (Northampton Saints, 5)
Backs
Ollie Allan (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
Josh Bellamy (Harlequins, 4)
Jack Bracken (Saracens, uncapped)
Benjamin Coen (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
Toby Cousins (Northampton Saints, 6)
Lucas Friday (Harlequins, uncapped)
Angus Hall (Saracens, uncapped)
Ioan Jones (Gloucester, 4)
Sean Kerr (Harlequins, 4)
Ben Redshaw (Newcastle Falcons, 5)
Oli Spencer (Newcastle Falcons, 5)
Ben Waghorn (Harlequins, 7)
Alex Wills (Sale Sharks, 7)
England U20 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship Fixtures
Matchday 1 (29 June) – England vs. Argentina – Athlone Stadium – (13:00 BST kick-off)
Matchday 2 (4 July) – England vs. Fiji – Athlone Stadium – (15:30 BST kick-off)
Matchday 3 (9 July) – South Africa vs. England – Athlone Stadium – (18:00 BST kick-off)
Matchday 4 (Sunday 14 July) – Semi Final Matches
Matchday 5 (Friday 19 July) – Finals Matches