England U20 Title Defence

Lewis Ludlaw and Will Witty will win their first caps for the England U20 side in Tuesday’s opening game against Japan.

Last year’s Junior World Championship winners will be hungry to get their title defence off the perfect start in Italy, with seven changes having been made from the last time the side ran out in the U20 Six Nations.

Max Clark and Nick Tompkins create a new centre partnership and Stuart Townsend and Ellis Genge also return to the starting XV.

Tompkins, along with James Chisholm, Paul Hill and Jack Walker bring the experience of an U20’s Championship having lifted the trophy in New Zealand last year.

Head coach Jon Callard said: “Everyone has settled in really well since arriving on Thursday.  Training has been spot on - good intensity, great accuracy and plenty of enthusiasm.  The squad are keen to get our processes right and they are looking forward to the first match.

“It is tough to have Japan first because they are a relatively unknown quality.  From the tapes we have studied, we know that they are they are a physical and a passionate side who will fight hard for the ball. We need to be clinical, focus on ourselves and our systems and make full use of possession.”