U20s chop and change for round two
The second round of matches from the IRB U20 World Championship takes place on Wednesday, as the teams look to gain some ascendency in their groups.
Rugby365.com brings you all the confirmed team details from the second round of matches as they are announced…
Scotland U20 coach, Eamon John, has made eight personnel changes to the side that lost 58-3 to Australia as they prepare to face the Springboks.
The Scots will face a South African side that dispatched with fourth-seeded Pool C opponents, Tonga (40-14) in round one to support their ambitions of lifting this year’s trophy having finished third in last season.
John said: “We’ve committed the Australia game to our memory bank of experience. Playing at that level of intensity for the whole match puts a yardstick on the players’ experience and on their expectations of themselves.
“Playing two back-to-back southern hemisphere teams in five days is an intense environment that you have got to learn from. We’ve played in it, we’ve analysed it and now we have to learn from it.”
While SA U20 coach Eric Sauls has made three changes to the side that dispatched the Tongans 40-14.
Centre Branco du Preez who made his debut for the Springbok Sevens during this year’s IRB Sevens World Series, wing Sibusiso Sithole and forward Mlungisi Bali have all been elevated to the starting lineup for this crucial Pool C clash.
“It’s important that we maintain our momentum in this tournament,” said the SA U20 coach.
“We have four more games during the next two weeks or so, so we felt it necessary not to risk any of the players who suffered minor niggles after the Tonga game.”
Scotland: 15 Oliver Grove, 14 Michael Tait, 13 Callum MacBurnie, 12 James Johnstone, 11 Dougie Fife, 10 Matthew Scott, 9 Alex Black, 8 Stuart McInally (Captain), 7 Michael Fedo, 6 Callum Stidston-Nott, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 David Denton, 3 Colin Philips, 2 Adam Fedorciow, 1 Anthony Kent.
Replacements: 16 Alun Walker, 17 George Hunter, 18 Robert Harley, 19 Michael Maltman, 20 Russell Weir, 21 Tom Brown, 22 Jonny Kennedy.
South Africa: 15 Patrick Lambie, 14 Wandile Mjekevu, 13 Branco du Preez, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Sibusiso Sithole, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 CJ Stander (Captain), 7 Mlungisi Bali, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 Kene Okafor, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Monde Hadebe, 1 Brummer Badenhorst.
Replacements: 16 Francois du Toit, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Wessel du Rand, 19 Peet Marais, 20 Lubabalo Mtembu, 21 Adri Jacobs, 22 Nico Scheepers.
Date: Wednesday, June 9
Venue: Santa Fe
Referee: Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
Assistant referees: Joaquin Montes (Uruguay), Stefano Traverso (Italy)
England U20 have made wholesale changes to the side that beat the host nation Argentina in the first round ahead of their clash with Ireland.
Coach Mark Mapletoft has made ten changes in all as he has had to balance the needs of facing a dangerous Irish side with the fact that there is so much game-time still to come in a tournament where every team plays five games.
“We know this is a tough group, but we want to win each game, so we’ve picked a side to try and do that. At the same time we can’t expect 80 minutes from all our players every three days,” Mapletoft said.
England: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Andrew Forsyth, 12 Tom Casson, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Alex Gray, 7 Jacob Rowan (Captain), 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 George Kruis, 3 Mako Vunipola, 2 Jamie George, 1 Lee Imiolek.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Calum Green, 19 Jackson Wray, 20 Sam Harrison, 21 Freddie Burns, 22 Jonny May.
Ireland: tbc
Date: Wednesday, June 9
Venue: Rosario
Referee: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Peter Allan (Scotland), Luis Caviglia (Uruguay)
Wales U20 coach Phil Davies has made ten changes including two positional for his side’s second match against Fiji.
The team, led by prop Dan Watchurst, beat Samoa 22-13 in their opening game on Saturday evening, but it was a tough challenge for the Welsh youngsters and only a try by Ospreys centre Ashley Beck eventually separated the sides ten minutes from time.
“We view Fiji as a genuine step-up from Samoa, with their athleticism and off-load game very much a threat. They lost 44-11 to New Zealand but gave the New Zealanders some problems throughout and matched them physically for long periods,” Davies said.
Wales: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Kristian Phillips, 13 Ben John, 12 Scott Williams, 11 James Loxton, 10 Matthew Jarvis, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 James Thomas, 5 James King, 4 Lloyd Peers, 3 Joe Rees, 2 Ieuan Davies, 1 Dan Watchurst (Captain).
Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Will Taylor, 18 Joel Galley, 19 Rhys Jenkins, 20 Rhys Downes, 21 Steven Shingler, 22 Ashley Beck.
Fiji: tbc
Date: Wednesday, June 9
Venue: Parana
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mauro Rivera, Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
