England U20s braced for Welsh onslaught

Jason Strange’s side must beat the auld enemy if they are to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the championship.
 
England are currently top of Pool A following their 12-try thrashing of Samoa and can put one foot in the last four with a second triumph in Tbilisi.
 
Head coach Ian Vass has reshuffled his side for the encounter – Max Malins captains the side from fly-half, while Theo Brophy Clews and Sam Aspland-Robinson also come into the back-line. Up front Ben Earl starts in a backrow that includes Zach Mercer and Josh Bayliss.
 
And Vass anticipates a stern test from a physical and tactically astute Wales.
 
He said: “Wales always want to beat us physically as well as on the scoreboard so I think the main thing that is going to come our way is a well-coached tactical team who are very motivated to beat us.
 
“Yes we did attack well against Samoa and score some good tries but I think there is more to come from the attack and defensively we weren’t happy with the amount of points we conceded. So in training we’ve tidied some things up in attack and need to make sure we defend for the full 80 minutes.”
 
Fly half Malins was part of the England U20s side that lifted the coveted trophy last season and Vass expects the Saracens starlet to bring an abundance of composure.
 
He added: “Max is very calm, tactically astute, he will move us around the field and knows the systems we play inside out. Because he doesn’t say an awful lot, when he does speak people tend to listen to what he has to say.”
 
England U20 v Wales U20
15. Tom Parton (London Irish)
14. Sam Aspland-Robinson (Harlequins)
13. Max Wright (Yorkshire Carnegie)
12. Theo Brophy Clews (London Irish)
11. Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins)
10. Max Malins (Saracens) captain
9. Harry Randall (Gloucester Rugby)
1. Ralph Adams-Hale (Saracens)
2. Henry Walker (Gloucester Rugby)
3. Ciaran Knight (Gloucester Rugby)
4. Jack Nay (Saracens)
5. Justin Clegg (Worcester Warriors)
6. Josh Bayliss (Bath Rugby)
7. Ben Earl (Saracens)
8. Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby)
Replacements:?16. Joe Mullis (Gloucester Rugby)
17. Ollie Dawe (Bristol Rugby)
18. Marcus Street (Exeter Chiefs)
19. Josh Caulfield (Exeter Chiefs)
20. Max Davies (Newcastle Falcons)
21. Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
22. Jacob Umaga (Wasps)
23. Will Butler (Worcester Warriors)