Five Chiefs Named to Face Junior Springboks with England U20

Five Exeter Chiefs players have been named to represent England U20 against the Junior Springboks in the next round of the World Rugby U20 Championship.

Nick Lilley, Nic Allison, Ben Coen and Kane James are all named in the starting XV with Campbell Ridl on the bench.

England take on the Junior Springboks at the Stadio Mario Battaglini, Rovigo this Friday (4th, 17:00 BST kick-off) after a 56-19 opening-day win over Scotland in Verona. The match will be streamed live and for free on RugbyPass TV in the UK and Ireland.

Ben Redshaw (Gloucester Rugby) and Tom Burrow (Sale Sharks) take to the field together for the first time as co-captains of the England U20 Men’s team.

Nic Allison of Exeter Chiefs starts at inside centre as one of two alterations to the backline, alongside Redshaw’s inclusion at right wing. Jack Bracken switches to left wing after two tries on Matchday 1.

In the pack, Kepu Tuipulotu, Vilikesa Sela (both Bath Rugby) and Olamide Sodeke (Saracens) all earn their first starts of this year’s competition. Former U18 and U19 Men’s captain Connor Treacey makes his tournament debut as blindside flanker.

Sale Sharks hooker Alfie Longstaff and Saracens wing Noah Caluori could make their U20 Men’s debuts if introduced from the replacements bench.

Mapletoft’s side face Australia at the Payanini Centre next Wednesday (9th, 17:00 BST) to conclude the pool stages of the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship.

“Our meeting against Scotland gave us many positive learnings and the boys adapted well to the demands of an opening fixture in the heat against a tough pack,” pathway scrum and defence coach Nathan Catt said.

“South Africa always promises to be very testing yet exciting fixture. We want our boys to commit to the moment throughout and build strongly together.

“A core principle of our campaign is to make lifelong memories through raising our levels of high performance every week, and this match will be no exception.” 

England U20

15 Josh Bellamy (Harlequins, Rosslyn Park, 13 caps)

14 Ben Redshaw (cc) (Gloucester Rugby, West Park Leeds RFC, 9 caps)

13 Nick Lilley (Exeter Chiefs, Ivybridge RFC, 5 caps)

12 Nic Allison (Exeter Chiefs, Bishops Diocesan College, 4 caps)

11 Jack Bracken (Saracens, Barnet Elizabethans, 9 caps)

10 Ben Coen (Exeter Chiefs, Teignmouth RFC, 10 caps)

9 Jonny Weimann (Northampton Saints, Royston Rugby Club, 2 caps)

1 Ralph McEachran (Sale Sharks, Guildford RFC, 6 caps)

2 Kepu Tuipulotu (Bath Rugby, Cwmbran RFC, 6 caps)

3 Vilikesa Sela (Bath Rugby, Royal Wootton Bassett RFC, 11 caps)

4 Olamide Sodeke (Saracens, Blackheath Rugby Club, 15 caps)

5 Tom Burrow (cc) (Sale Sharks, Morley RUFC, 6 caps)

6 Connor Treacey (Bath Rugby, New Milton Rugby Club, 3 caps)

7 Samuel Williams (Leicester Tigers, Nottingham Corsairs RFC, 1 cap)

8 Kane James (Exeter Chiefs, St. Peter’s RFC, 15 caps)

Replacements

16 Alfie Longstaff (Sale Sharks, Sandal RUFC, uncapped)

17 Oli Scola (Northampton Saints, Old Northamptonians RFC, 5 caps)

18 Tye Raymont (Sale Sharks, West Park Leeds RFC, 6 caps)

19 Junior Kpoku (Racing 92, Saracens Amateurs, 14 caps)

20 Aiden Ainsworth-Cave (Northampton Saints, Bedford Junior Blues, 5 caps)

21 Archie McParland (Northampton Saints, Ruthin RFC, 6 caps)

22 Campbell Ridl (Exeter Chiefs, Sharks, 3 caps)

23 Noah Caluori (Saracens, Blackheath Rugby, uncapped)