England U20s 2017

England lifted their third World Rugby U20 Championship title in four years last month, capping a fantastic season for English rugby at club, age-grade and test levels.

Harry Mallinder followed in the footsteps of Jack Clifford and Maro Itoje, captaining his side to age-grade rugby’s grandest prize and the team’s performance has kept up the pressure on England’s senior incumbents, with the U20s continuing to prove a rich feeding ground for the national team.

With the majority of those U20 stars no longer qualifying for the side next year, we take a look at how the England U20 team might look in the 2017 U20 Six Nations and World Rugby U20 Championship competitions.

One area where England have certainly not struggled over the last four or five years is up front but with none of the current front row eligible to return in 2017, it will be an inexperienced group that England turn to when the Six Nations rolls around.

Gloucester’s Alex Seville will be in the driving seat at loosehead prop, having excelled this past year for his club, England U18s and Hartpury College. Jarod Leat, who turned down full academy terms at London Irish this past season to move to Wasps, is another candidate to man the loosehead berth.

Seville could be joined at hooker by club teammate Henry Walker, but there is certainly no shortage of choices for the two jersey. Newcastle Falcons’ Jamie Blamire, Bath’s Gabriel Oghre and Worcester Warriors’ Beck Cutting are all other options at Martin Haag’s disposal. Oghre, a product of Millfield school, captained Bath’s U18 side this past season, impressing coaches and fans alike with his work at the set-piece and in the loose. Leicester Tigers’ Harry Mahoney hasn’t been involved in England age-grades side as of yet, but is another talented option at the position, very much in the mould of Leicester’s other mobile hookers, Tom Youngs and Harry Thacker.

An all-Gloucester front row could be completed by Ciaran Knight, although he will face stiff competition from Northampton Saints’ highly impressive duo of tightheads, Devante Onojaife and Ehren Painter. Leicester’s Jake Charters and Worcester’s Joseph Morris are two further possibilities.

As with the front row options, Haag won’t be able to call on any experience in the second row but he does again have a plethora of talented prospects available to pick from.

Most noteworthy at the position is Saracens’ Nick Isiekwe. He remained with the U18 side this past season due, most likely, to a desire not to rush him into U20 rugby when England already had a number of players to choose from at his position, but he was certainly physically and technically ready to make the jump. Leicester’s Sam Lewis and Newcastle’s Josh Williams are strong candidates to step up after enjoying successful seasons with the U18s.

One name to keep an eye out for is Wasps’ Ehize Ehizode who, although not featuring for England U18s this season, was in phenomenal form in the Aviva Premiership Academy League and even made his debut at ‘A’ League level for the club. Between Isiekwe and Ehizode, England would potentially have a second row partnership even more dynamic than the one Maro Itoje and Charlie Ewels formed two years ago.

In the back row, England will have two key players return in the forms of Leicester’s Will Evans and Bath’s Zach Mercer. Evans was unlucky to miss out on World Rugby Junior Player of the Year nomination this season, whilst Mercer brought real impact off the bench with his carrying. Archie White, who missed out on the U20 Championship, is also eligible to return next season.

This trio could be joined by the Curry twins, Ben and Tom, who play for Sale Sharks and have been making quite a reputation for themselves in the North-West and with the England U18 side. London Irish’s Isaac Curtis-Harris, Gloucester’s Joe Mullis, Saracens’ Ben Earl and Harlequins’ Dino Lamb-Cona are other possibilities, whilst Worcester’s Tom Dodd is an outside the box suggestion who excelled in the Academy League this year.

Moving onto the backs and there is a little more consistency for England.

Gloucester’s Harry Randall will continue at scrum-half and will likely be joined by his former U18 partner, London Irish’s Rory Brand. The two players pushed each other for selection at U18 level and there’s no reason to doubt that that will continue at U20 level. Leicester’s Ben White and Irish’s Callum Watson are two other names to keep an eye on.

At fly-half, both Theo Brophy Clews (London Irish) and Max Malins (Saracens) should return, although club commitments for Brophy Clews may prevent him from appearing in the U20 Six Nations. If Brophy Clews is unavailable, Malins will likely assume fly-half duties (he featured at full-back last season) and Northampton’s James Grayson or Exeter Chiefs’ Harvey Skinner could cover from the bench.

Yorkshire Carnegie centre Max Wright could return for the U20s next season, despite not featuring at the U20 Championship, but will face stiff competition to crack the starting XV. Wasps’ Jacob Umaga and Harlequins’ Gabriel Ibitoye would be frontrunners for the 12 and 13 jerseys respectively right now, with Saracens’ Oli Morris and Gloucester’s Mason Tonks alternative options.

Quins’ Sam Aspland-Robinson and Bath’s Darren Atkins will return in the back three and almost certainly be joined London Irish’s physical phenom, Ratu Joe Cokanasiga. The winger could be England’s answer to Nemani Nadolo in a few years’ time but should make the leap from U18 to U20 rugby this season, unless his services are required by the Irish senior squad in the Greene King RFU Championship.

The Leicester wing duo of Levi Davis and Sam Yawayawa could well feature, as could Worcester’s dynamic full-back Max Craven. With Aspland-Robinson and Atkins likely retaining their starting spots, however, it’s hard to see anyone beating out Cokanasiga for the vacant wing position.

Possible 2017 England U20 XV

1. Alex Seville, Gloucester

2. Gabriel Oghre, Bath

3. Devante Onojaife, Northampton Saints

4. Nick Isiekwe, Saracens

5. Ehize Ehizode, Wasps

6. Archie White, Harlequins

7. Will Evans, Leicester Tigers

8. Zach Mercer, Bath

9. Harry Randall, Gloucester

10. Theo Brophy Clews, London Irish

11. Joe Cokanasiga, London Irish

12. Jacob Umaga, Wasps

13. Gabriel Ibitoye, Harlequins

14. Sam Aspland-Robinson, Harlequins

15. Darren Atkins, Bath