Sharks forward Tom Burrow will captain England’s U20s team against Ireland on Thursday night in the opening fixture of the 2025 U20 Six Nations.
The 19-year-old lock will make his first competitive start for the U20s in the game at the Virgin Media Park, in Cork, having captained the side in an uncapped match last year.
Tom, who made his Premiership debut for Sale this season, is joined in the side by loosehead prop Ralph McEachran for the game, which will be streamed live on the BBC iPlayer.
Sharks Academy tighthead Tye Raymont, who played 55 minutes of Sunday’s Gallagher Premiership defeat against Bath, starts on the bench.
In total, head coach Mark Mapletoft has picked six uncapped players in the XV, with a further five on the replacements bench.
Henry Pollock joins up with the U20 squad after training with Steve Borthwick’s senior men in Girona over the last week. The Northampton Saints forward starts at openside flanker alongside fellow 2024 U20 Six Nations and World Rugby U20 Championship winners, Junior Kpoku (Racing 92) and Kane James (Exeter Chiefs) in the back-row.
Five of the selected eight replacements could also earn their U20 Men’s debut at Virgin Media Park, with previously capped George Timmins (Bath Rugby) and Harlequins’ Lucas Friday and Josh Bellamy also amongst the reinforcements.
England U20 Men’s previous encounter with Ireland saw Mapletoft’s team emerge 31-20 victors in Cape Town following a thrilling 32-all tie in last year’s U20 Six Nations.
Mark Mapletoft said: “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.
“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.”
Tickets to see the reigning U20 Six Nations and world champions are available on general sale via this link.
England U20 Men team to face Ireland (includes current club, community club and U20 caps)
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)
England U20 Men’s 2025 fixtures:
U20 Men’s 2025 Six Nations Round 1 – Ireland vs. England – Thursday 30th January – 19:45 GMT kick-off – Virgin Media Park
U20 Men’s 2025 Six Nations Round 2 – England vs. France – Friday 7th February – 20:00 GMT kick-off – The Recreation Ground, Bath
U20 Men’s 2025 Six Nations Round 3 – England vs. Scotland – Friday 21st February – 19:15 GMT kick-off – Kingston Park, Newcastle
U20 Men’s 2025 Six Nations Round 4 – England vs. Italy – Friday 7th March – 19:45 GMT kick-off – The Recreation Ground, Bath
U20 Men’s 2025 Six Nations Round 5 – Wales vs. England – Friday 14th March – 19:30 GMT kick-off – Cardiff Arms Park
