England Under-20s ready to ‘create own stories’ as they gear up for world title defence
England boss Mark Mapletoft addressing his players, with co-captain Ben Redshaw watching on
©RFU Collection via JMP UK
Thursday saw England Under-20s head coach Mark Mapletoft announce his 30-man squad for the upcoming World Rugby U20 Championship.
Mapletoft’s men created history in 2024, going unbeaten throughout the year as they secured both the Six Nations title and the World Championship.
And for 2025, the defending world champions will be led by co-captains Tom Burrow (Sale Sharks) and Ben Redshaw (Gloucester).
Burrow skippered the squad during this season’s Six Nations - in which England fell just short of retaining the trophy - while despite a stop-start campaign due to injury, Redshaw will also lead the side over in Italy.
“They're definitely the two best people to lead this squad,” Mapletoft explained.
“I’ve known them both a long time and been on a number of tours with them and know these lads as well as I could.
“Tom did a brilliant job in the Six Nations and for Ben, who was unfortunately injured, I just felt it was the right decision given the age profile of the group and where we’re at in our current development.
“It’s a big job. You’ve got 30 players to manage, navigating five-day turnarounds, but I just felt they can both support each other. They’re both good Yorkshire lads and have known each other a long time. We felt that it was the best combination to get the best out of themselves and the group.
“Clearly, both are very good rugby players. I've just been really impressed, how they've worked together over these couple of weeks and seeing the impact they had on the group, and then hopefully how they can dovetail out in Italy and get the best out of themselves and everybody else.
“I feel they can work together really well to get the most out of the group and actually take the pressure off each other a little bit.”
Redshaw will be one of eight players involved in this year’s squad that won the World Championship in South Africa 11 months ago, and having captained England in their 47-14 win over Wales in a recent warm-up fixture, the full-back will certainly be influential during the tournament.
“He’s had a stop-start season with injuries, so he’s probably fresh, and that’s a real positive for him,” Mapletoft added. “He’s really starting to fill out now and build that strength as well.
“Ben’s never one to shy away from a challenge, and I thought he was excellent against Georgia [in England’s final warm-up game]. He’ll be chomping at the bit, having been part of last year but missing out at the end.”
As Mapletoft alludes to, Redshaw wasn’t involved in England’s 21-13 success over France last year and even though they head to Verona as reigning champions, there is a sense that this current squad can write their own story over the next month.
“We’re really conscious that this is a different group,” Mapletoft explains.
“There are lots of them who are going out to Italy who weren’t in South Africa last year so we’ve challenged them to come up with something that you want to hang your hat on.
“They’ve really taken that on board about what it is they want to do with this group to create their own stories and make their own memories rather than retrospectively looking back to when we won.
“We can use the experience of those lads to say: ‘Look, this is what we forged’ but we’ve got to forge something different now.”
In terms of the new faces, there are seven uncapped players in Mapletoft’s ranks including Gloucester centre Will Knight, who is fresh out of the Under-18s set-up.
“The make-up of the squad is probably on a par if you get your planning and preparation right and your pathway is robust enough to give younger players the opportunity to step up when they're ready, irrespective of age,” Mapletoft added.
“I think we demonstrated that pretty well last year with the likes of Angus Hall and Jack Bracken, and this year, we've given Will Knight the opportunity.
“He did brilliantly there [at this year’s Under-18 Six Nations festival]. He stepped into this environment, and he's picked up the baton pretty well.
“If it's the right timing for a young player, whether they’re still at school, we're just very happy to give these players an opportunity to test themselves on the world stage, which is the whole purpose of the tournament.
“Our job is to make sure those players get stretched at the appropriate time, that they're not in their comfort zone. If they're good enough, they'll get a go.
“It's not an exact science. I don't think we profess to get it right all the time, but I think what those players do is that every time you give them an opportunity, they have to be excelling.”
As Mapletoft mentioned, the players he has selected have been ‘excelling’ at whatever level they have been involved at.
And with that in mind, almost two-thirds of the 30-man squad accumulated game time in either BUCS Super Rugby or the National Leagues in 2024/25.
For example, for uncapped players Alfie Longstaff, Seb Kelly and Ollie Streeter, over 50 per cent of their rugby this season was spent playing in National One or National Two.
“It is very important [BUCS Super Rugby and the National Leagues], it’s critical,” Mapletoft says. “Every player has an opportunity at some level, and they’ll get the appropriate challenge.
“You only have to look at someone like Henry [Pollock], who's just risen to every single challenge this year. It's just an unbelievable achievement to be picked on merit for England in the Six Nations, but then to go on to be selected for the British and Irish Lions while still being under 20, for me, is what this programme is about.
“It's seeing the likes of Henry and Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and those guys going up and getting capped, and hopefully, more and more can do so over the next three to five years.”
Pollock was one of the standout players in England’s championship-winning side last year, and less than 12 months later, he now finds himself on a Lions tour, and as Mapletoft explained, that factor is not lost on the squad.
“It's a great achievement, and it shows he's a terrific bloke, an unbelievable player, but also very inspirational, and I think modern.
“I've got four kids of my own. I'm probably a bit old for TikTok, if I'm honest, but I understand how things like that work and how much people are observing that. He's inspirational to the next generation of players, so I think it’s brilliant.”
England face a difficult group with Scotland first up on June 29th, followed by South Africa and Australia.
And if they are to defend their title in Italy over the next month, Mapletoft highlights one attribute which is non-negotiable.
“For us, it's that work rate that you just cannot buy, that is just absolute pride. It's priceless, and what you expect to see is that the players actually, genuinely care about each other and then they'll work harder for each other.
“So, without talking technical or tactical, it's just that work rate of ‘I'm not going to give up’'. That's just something you can't coach.
“There’s always a balance to be had between winning and development, and winning development. So our job is to develop players to play for England in the long term, and along the way, to get into their Premiership sides and forge a career there.
“I have to be really clear that, fundamentally, that's what we're here to do.
