Roots to captain England A against All Blacks XV
Exeter Chiefs back-rower Ethan Roots has been selected as captain for England A’s fixture against the All Blacks XV at the Recreation Ground this Saturday.
Bristol Bears’ Joe Batley was due to take the armband but having welcomed his second child this week, the captaincy duties have been deputised to Roots.
The Chiefs back-rower will now lead the representative line-up which includes his club teammates Greg Fisilau and Josh Hodge who start at number eight and full-back.
The side is loaded with up-and-coming PREM talent including Bristol’s Fitz Harding, Bath Rugby centre Max Ojomoh as vice-captain and Northampton Saints’ Tom Pearson rounding out the back-row with Roots and Fisilau.
Head coach Mark Mapletoft said: “Everyone’s buy-in his week has been second-to-none, squad and staff have been adaptable and prepared excellently in our unique turnaround. Building togetherness has been key, and I believe we have achieved that.
“This fixture is a challenge for our team but in equal measure, a prime opportunity for everyone to push on for senior honours. We want them to step up and take their shot this Saturday.”
The All Blacks XV come into the fixture off the back of a 33-19 win over a Barbarians side at the Gtech Community Stadium in London last Saturday afternoon.
This weekend’s game will kick off at 13:15 on Saturday, 8 November with a limited number of tickets still available to purchase here.
England A:
15 Josh Hodge
14 Noah Caluori
13 Angus Hall
12 Max Ojomoh
11 Ollie Hassell-Collins
10 Charlie Atkinson
9 Archie McParland
1 Emmanuel Iyogun
2 Jamie Blamire
3 Afolabi Fasogbon
4 Tom Lockett
5 Joe Batley
6 Ethan Roots (c)
7 Tom Pearson
8 Greg Fisilau
Replacements: Kepu Tuipulotu, Tarek Haffar, Vilikesa Sela, Ben Bamber, Fitz Harding, Caolan Englefield, Rekeiti Ma'asi-White, Adam Radwan