England U20 stick with continuity
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The England Under-20 side that will play the final of this year's U20 World Cup against New Zealand will be the same team that convincingly beat South Africa in the semifinals.
The English are targeting a third consecutive title on Saturday and head coach Jon Callard has put his faith in the squad that beat the Junior Boks 28-20.
"The squad performed heroically in the semifinal and they deserve another opportunity. That is, however, unfortunate for the others who have been pushing and training hard.
"I am grateful that I have 28 enthusiastic and energised players who want to give this their best shot whether on the field or by supporting the preparations of those who are. We were all pleased with the semifinal but feel that we left a bit out there. We were a little exposed at the end so there have been lots of key learnings from that game," said Callard.
England have not faced New Zealand since the 2013 semifinal in France when they recorded a 33-21 victory to progress into the final against Wales.
"New Zealand are a very exciting and challenging proposition for us,” added Callard.
"They have a powerful squad who play with width and pace. We need to be strong in the set piece and smart in our game management. I’m hoping that it will be a great advert for the game as the boys look to show that they are the best in their generation at this particular time.
"To have the opportunity to test yourself against both South Africa and New Zealand within a week in test rugby is both unique and a privilege."
England Under-20: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 George Perkins, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Max Clark, 11 Howard Packman, 10 Rory Jennings, 9 James Mitchell, 8 James Chisholm, 7 Will Owen, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 Charlie Ewels (captain), 4 Will Witty, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Sebastian Adeniran-Olule, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Sam Skinner, 21 Will Homer, 22 Lloyd Evans, 23 Piers O’Conor..
Date: Saturday, June 20
Venue: Stadio Giovanni Zini, Cremona
Kick-off: 20.30 (18.30 GMT; 05.30 Sunday, June 21 NZ time)
Referee: Will Houston (Australia)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Lloyd Linton (Scotland)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
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