England Side to Face USA Heavy on Uncapped Players
England Side to Face USA Heavy on Uncapped Players
England Head Coach Eddie Jones has named a lineup of seven uncapped starters in the England side set to face the USA on the 4th of July at Twickenham.
Uncapped blindside flanker Lewis Ludlow will captain the side, with the very experienced Sam Underhill at openside flanker.
Five of the eight forward pack are making their debuts. Three more forwards on the bench have never played for England before.
This will be an interesting test for the halfback combination of Harry Randall and Marcus Smith, both making their first starts. In the centers is England's most-capped starter, with 38-cap Henry Slade of Premiership champions Exeter wearing the #13 jersey.
Twelve England players are on tour with the British & Irish Lions in South Africa.
“Over the past three weeks our biggest message to the players is what an opportunity this is to show what they can do and make their mark with England," said Jones. "They’ve applied themselves as a group and worked very hard individually during this camp to reach their personal bests. Now it’s all about coming together as a team, gelling and putting in a good performance at the weekend.”
England v USA is live on FloRugby in the USA, with the kickoff at 9AM Eastern Time.
ENGLAND XV
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
14. Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 9 caps)
13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 38 caps)
12. Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, 6 caps)
11. Max Malins (Saracens, 7 caps)
10. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, uncapped)
9. Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, uncapped)
1. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 28 caps)
2. Curtis Langdon (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
4. Josh McNally (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
5. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 21 caps)
6. Lewis Ludlow (C) (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)
7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 22 caps)
8. Callum Chick (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)
FINISHERS
16. Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)
17. Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, 1 cap)
18. Trevor Davison (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)
19. Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors, 1 cap)
20. Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
21. Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 8 caps)
22. Dan Robson (Wasps, 12 caps)
23. Jacob Umaga (Wasps, uncapped)