England A team: ‘High expectations’ as Mark Mapletoft includes 10 senior capped players for Ireland clash
Alex Dombrandt is the player with the most Test caps in the England A team that will be skippered in Ireland by Ethan Roots, inset
England A head coach Mark Mapletoft has selected a side that has “high expectations” as they prepare to face an Ireland XV at Thomond Park in Limerick on Friday night.
Following victory in Spain in their most recent outing at A level, a 29-25 success in Valladolid last November, the English are looking forward to meeting Ireland’s second side 12 months on from last February’s 28-12 victory at Ashton Gate Stadium.
England A will be skippered by Exeter Chiefs flanker Ethan Roots, who has been named Mapletoft’s captain. It will be his second time leading the team, as he was skipper for the 31-14 loss in Bath to an All Blacks XV just over 12 weeks ago.
Friday showdown
Cadan Murley, Jack Kenningham, Archie van der Flier and Hugh Tizard are now named in Friday’s squad, adding further strength and quality across the group. Kenningham and Murley have joined from the senior squad after last week’s training block in Girona. That provided them with valuable experience and insight that they can now bring into the A’s.
A total of 10 squad members (eight starters) have senior caps, and 17 have progressed through England’s U18 or U20 pathways, making this team a strong reflection of the national development programme. With players such as Henry Randall (14 caps) and Jamie Blamire (7 caps) leading with senior experience, it’s match day 23 that has a real mix of talented players.
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Mapletoft said: “We have high expectations for this group. Every player has the talent to perform at their best and we’re looking forward to the challenge Friday.
“The mix of experience and emerging skill in this squad makes it a genuinely exciting team to work with. They will gel quickly, push each other, and learn from one another as we progress, which is exactly what we want from an England A side.”
Ireland head coach Cullie Tucker originally named a squad of 27 for the match with Leinster’s Max Deegan announced as their skipper, but Jack Aungier, Fiachna Barrett, Harry Sheridan, Fineen Wycherely and Ethan Coughlan have now all be called up while Ciaran Frawley, who was in Portugal with Andy Farrell’s senior squad, has also been added.
England A team to face Ireland XV
England A: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Luke Northmore, 12 Orlando Bailey, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Jack Kenningham, 6 Ethan Roots (c), 5 Joe Batley, 4 Ben Bamber, 3 George Kloska, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Tarek Haffar
Replacements: 16 Kepueli Tuipulotu, 17 Archie van der Flier, 18 Afolabi Fasogbon, 19 Hugh Tizard, 20 Fitz Harding, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Charlie Atkinson, 23 George Hendy
Date: Friday, February 6
Venue: Thomond Park, Limerick
Kick-off: 19:00 BST