Josh Beaumont to lead England XV against Baa-baas

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England XV head coach Jim Mallinder has named his team to play in the Quilter Cup clash with the Barbarians, with Josh Beaumont captaining the side.

Beaumont, playing in his fourth Barbarians fixture, is joined in the second-row by Bath’s Elliott Stooke.

Marcus Smith (Harlequins), who has regularly trained with the England senior side in recent seasons, will play at 10 with former England U20 Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints) named at half-back.

Joe Marchant (Harlequins), scorer of 11 Premiership tries for his club this season, is named at centre outside Newcastle Falcons’ Johnny Williams at 12.

Former England U20 player Piers O’Conor will start on the right wing after an impressive first season at Bristol Bears with Josh Bassett, Wasps’ top try scorer this season, named on the left wing.

Simon Hammersley (Newcastle Falcons), who will join Sale Sharks next season, is named at full-back. He has been among the outstanding players in his position during this season’s Premiership,

Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints) is the only full England international to start the match and will play at number eight with Ben Curry (Sale Sharks) and Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins) alongside him in the back-row. Harrison has five caps to his name with his last England Test coming in 2016 against Australia.

Tommy Taylor (Wasps) and Paul Hill (Northampton Saints) are the only other two players in the 23-man squad to have been capped for England and are named as replacements.

Ross Harrison (Sale Sharks), Tom Dunn (Bath) and Ehren Painter (Northampton Saints) will all start in the front-row.

Mallinder said: “Preparations have gone really well this week. It’s a new group of players and coaches but we have come together and had some really good training days and are looking forward to the game on Sunday.

“We have got a really balance in the squad between some experienced Premiership players, some with international caps and a lot of youth that has come through the system and played at England U18 and U20 level but also have played really well for their clubs. This game will be massive for them and you can see their motivation and desire. They all have really deserved the opportunity this weekend.”

On the opposition Mallinder said: “With the Barbarians you have got to expect the unexpected. We have seen their squad full of world-class players and we know they will be doing world-class things on the pitch. We have got to embrace that challenge but we have to concentrate on our own game and play as a team.”

On Beaumont as captain he added: “I think Josh Beaumont is a great player, a very good leader and has experience of playing in these fixtures. I’ve watched him play for Sale Sharks this season, he’s had a terrific season and I’m really looking forward to him leading the team on Sunday.”

England: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Piers O’Conor, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Alex Dombrandt, 5 Josh Beaumont (c), 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Tom Ellis, 21 Ben White, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Ben Loader

Date: Sunday, June 2
Venue: Twickenham
Kick-off: 15:30 BST (14:30 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Alex Ruiz (France), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

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