England start JWC defence
England Under-20 will start the defence of their Junior World Championship crown against Italy in Auckland on Monday.
England last faced their Italian rivals in their final game of the U20 Six Nations, winning 52-5, but coach Nick Walshe says that that result will have no bearing on this game.
He said: “We’re looking forward to kicking off this campaign, we’ve been in New Zealand for over a week now – the lads are acclimatised and have trained well. They’ve taken real ownership and can’t wait to get out there.
“We did well against Italy in the Six Nations but that game has gone, we’re focused on performing well in this game and kick-starting our JWC. “
Captain Callum Braley added: “We’ve enjoyed our first week in Auckland but now it’s time to get down to business. We’re excited about the next five games – there’s pressure on us, but we have to use that to our advantage and perform as well as we can.”
England U20: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 George Catchpole, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 Sam Olver, 9 Callum Braley (captain), 8 James Chisholm, 7 Gus Jones, 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Tom Ellis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Tom Woolstencroft, 1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi.
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Alex Lundberg, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Joel Conlon, 21 Henry Taylor, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Henry Purdy.
Date: Monday, June 2
Venue: ECO Light Stadium, Auckland
Kick-off: 17.35 (06.35 GMT)
Referee: TBC
