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Henry Pollock starts for England U20 after senior squad call-up
By Josh Raisey
Northampton Saints flanker Henry Pollock is set to start for England U20 on Thursday against Ireland U20 at Cork’s Virgin Media Park in the first match of their U20 Six Nations title defence.
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The 20-year-old was recently called into Steve Borthwick’s senior squad for their pre-Six Nations training camp in Girona, but has returned to the world champion U20s set-up.
Pollock will start in the No. 7 jersey in a back-row that includes Racing 92 star Junior Kpoku at blindside flanker.
Sale Sharks lock Tom Burrow will captain a squad that contains 11 uncapped players, one of which is Bath hooker Kepu Tuipulotu.
“As a team, we want to take a relentless approach from minute one and make our mark on the Six Nations once again this year,” head coach Mark Mapletoft said.
“Coming into the tournament as previous winners is a privilege, but the highest level of expectation will come from the players themselves who want to play with freedom and uphold our principles of speed, attachment and space.
“The squad have been working diligently to match our demands of them and are ready for a tough opening challenge in Ireland. We’ve had some exciting matchups in recent times, and we know we’ll have another testing game against Neil’s [Doak] side this week.”
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England U20 Men team to face Ireland
15 Jack Kinder (Leicester Tigers, Silhillians RUFC, uncapped)
14 Jack Bracken (Saracens, Barnet Elizabethans, 5 caps)
13 Angus Hall (Saracens, Sevenoaks Rugby Club, 6 caps)
12 Nic Allison (Exeter Chiefs, Bishops Diocesan College, uncapped)
11 Charlie Griffin (Bath Rugby, Rosslyn Park, uncapped)
10 Ben Coen (Exeter Chiefs, Teignmouth RFC, 5 caps)
9 Archie McParland (Northampton Saints, Ruthin RFC, 5 caps)
1 Ralph McEachran (Sale Sharks, Guildford RFC, uncapped)
2 Kepu Tuipulotu (Bath Rugby, Cwmbran RFC, uncapped)
3 Vilikesa Sela (Bath Rugby, Royal Wootton Bassett RFC, 9 caps)
4 Olamide Sodeke (Saracens, Blackheath Rugby Club, 11 caps)
5 Tom Burrow (c) (Sale Sharks, Morley RUFC, uncapped)
6 Junior Kpoku (Racing 92, Saracens Amateurs, 11 caps)
7 Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints, Buckingham Rugby Club, 12 caps)
8 Kane James (Exeter Chiefs, St. Peter’s RFC, 9 caps)
Replacements
16 Louie Gulley (Exeter Chiefs, Crediton RFC, uncapped)
17 Oli Scola (Northampton Saints, Old Northamptonians RFC, uncapped)
18 Tye Raymont (Sale Sharks, West Park Leeds RFC, uncapped)
19 Aiden Ainsworth-Cave (Northampton Saints, Bedford Junior Blues, uncapped)
20 George Timmins (Bath Rugby, Market Harborough RUFC, 2 caps)
21 Lucas Friday (Harlequins, Bromley RFC, 6 caps)
22 Josh Bellamy (Harlequins, Rosslyn Park, 10 caps)
23 Nick Lilley (Exeter Chiefs, Ivybridge RFC, uncapped)
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incredible team.
Kepu Tuipulotu is a talent on the same level as Pollock and Opoku-Fordjour - expect him to be in the conversation to go to Australia in 2027 and New Zealand in 2029.
Obviously Sela, Kpoku, and McParland aren't too far off that level either.
Its a shame though that Ollie Davies isn't in the team - I wonder if he is injured?
That pack is going to take some stopping.