Hodge starts in U20 World Championship finale

Friday 21 June 2019 Written by: Adam


Newcastle Falcons’ Josh Hodge starts on the wing for England Under-20s on Saturday as they take on Wales in the fifth-place play off in the World Rugby U20s World Championship.

The match in Rosario, Argentina, is a 2.30pm UK-time kick-off and is available to watch live online via the World Rugby website or on TV via S4C.

Hodge scored 20 of his side’s 30 points in the fifth place semi-final against Ireland and retains the number 11 jersey for the last game of the tournament.

Club-mate Josh Basham misses the game through injury, England Under-20s head coach Steve Bates said: “This match is extremely important for us as a team.

“For personal pride and making sure we finish the tournament in a positive way. As a group, this is our last as a team, so it’s an opportunity to finish on a high, having won four out of five fixtures. The team will be excited to play against a very good Wales team.

“For the majority of the players this will be their final game in the pathway and I hope they’ve all enjoyed the experience. They have all bonded as a group, I hope they will remember this experience very fondly and finish with a positive win against Wales.”

**England U20s v Wales U20s**

15. Tom de Glanville (Bath Rugby)

14. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)

13. Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints) – captain

12. Luke James (Sale Sharks)

11. Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons)

10. Manu Vunipola (Saracens)

9. Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs)

1. James Kenny (Exeter Chiefs)

2. Will Capon (Bristol Bears)

3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)

4. Joel Kpoku (Saracens)

5. Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)

6. Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors)

7. Aaron Hinkley (Gloucester Rugby)

8. Tom Willis (Wasps Rugby)

Replacements

16. Nic Dolly (Sale Sharks)

17. Olly Adkins (Gloucester Rugby)

18. Alfie Petch (Exeter Chiefs)

19. Kai Owen (Worcester Warriors)

20. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)

21. Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs)

22. Ollie Fox (Yorkshire Carnegie)

23. Tom Seabrook (Gloucester Rugby)

24. Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish)

25. Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks)