England U18 to play Wales
England Under-18 have named an experienced side to face Wales in the opening game of their three-match tour to South Africa, which kicks off in Wellington on Friday.
Coach John Fletcher’s side played Wales earlier in the season, winning 22-16 in Madrid, but captain Gus Jones says that previous results count for very little.
Jones said: “It’s nice to know that we're capable of winning these games. But the scenario is completely different for this one – different country, different players – so we'll approach it as we would any other game.
“Wales are a tough side to play against but we've trained well and we're a close knit squad so we're really looking forward to it.”
England Under 18: 15 Zach Kibirige, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Tom Stephenson, 12 Nick Carpenter, 11 Joshua Watkins, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Joel Conlon, 7 Gus Jones, 6 Ross Moriarty,5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Harry Rudkin, 2 Harry Thacker,1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi
Replacements 16 Alex Lundberg, 17 Sam James, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Jake Oldaker, 20 David Hughes, 21 Stephen Uren, 22 Ollie Claxton, 23 Sam Olver, 24 Nick Tompkins
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Daniel Fortuin (South Africa), Linston Manuels (South Africa)
Assessor: Dennis Immelman (South Africa)
