Many players have been given their first starts of the tournament and will line up alongside some mainstays in the side.

George Saunderson will get his chance at loosehead prop with Eoin De Buitléar and Sam Illo teaming up with him in the front row.

Mark Morrissey returns to the starting lineup and will pair up with Harry Sheridan at lock forward.

Alex Soroka returns to blindside flanker after a spell in the second row with captain Alex Kendellen making the move up to openside.

Daniel Okeke will make his first start for the side at number eight.

Nathan Doak will continue his run of starts at scrum-half with James Humphreys returning to the starting lineup at fly-half.

Ben Carson and Jude Postlethwaite come into the side in place of Cathal Forde and Shane Jennings.

Chay Mullins and Conor Rankin earn their first starts of the tournament on the wings with the ever-present Jamie Osborne behind them at fullback.

Winger Ben Moxham and centre Cathal Forde are among those on the bench for Wednesday’s clash.

Kick-off is at 2 pm at the Cardiff Arms Park and the game is available to watch on RTÉ 2.

Ireland U20 Team v Italy U20

Backs

15. Jamie Osborne (Naas CBS/Naas RFC/Leinster)
14. Conor Rankin (Campbell College Belfast/Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
13. Jude Postlethwaite (RBAI/Banbridge RFC/Ulster)
12. Ben Carson (Wallace High School/Banbridge RFC/Ulster)
11. Chay Mullins (SGC Filton/Bristol Bears/IQ Rugby)
10. James Humphreys (Dean Close School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
9. Nathan Doak (Wallace High School/Banbridge RFC/Ulster)

Forwards

1. George Saunderson (Sullivan Upper School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
2. Eoin de Buitléar (Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin/An Ghaeltacht/Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
3. Sam Illo (Wesley College/Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
4. Mark Morrissey (Blackrock College/UCD RFC/Leinster)
5. Harry Sheridan (Sullivan Upper School/Dublin University FC/Ulster)
6. Alex Soroka (Belvedere College/Clontarf RFC/Leinster)
7. Alex Kendellen (PBC Cork/UCC RFC/Munster)(Captain)
8. Daniel Okeke (Ardscoil Ris/Shannon RFC/Munster).

Replacements

16. Ronan Loughnane (Cistercian College Roscrea/UCD RFC/Leinster)
17. Jack Boyle (St. Michael’s College/UCD RFC/Leinster)
18. Liam Bishop (Trent College/Nottingham University/IQ Rugby)
19. Fearghail O’Donoghue (Cashel Community School/Cashel RFC/Munster)
20. Jack Kelleher (PBC Cork/UCC RFC/Munster)
21. Conor McKee (Sullivan Upper School/Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
22. Cathal Forde (Colaiste Iognaid/Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
23. Josh O’Connor (St Peter’s College/UCD RFC/Leinster)
24. Reuben Crothers (Wallace High School/Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster)
25. Levi Vaughan (Terenure College/Terenure RFC/Leinster)
26. Ben Moxham (Larne High School/Ballymena RFC/Ulster).

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The winger has started both of Ireland’s games prior to their Triple Crown match against the English is an admirer of their game.

Moxham noted that England U20s are a very physical side that like to kick – similar to Eddie Jones’ England of late in that sense.

“They’re definitely a good side – probably the best side we’re going to face yet,” said the Larne native.

He complimented the performances of their back three in their first two games and understands they will be a challenge.

However, the 20-year-old relishes the challenge facing him.

Moxham has come a long way since getting into rugby five years ago after not making it in football.

After deciding on rugby because it was “the only other sport” in Larne and putting a lot of hard work behind the scenes, he was recruited by Ulster.

Moxham has been working with the seniors at Ravenhill for a year and says that training with them has improved his game greatly.

“Training with the [Ulster] seniors has helped me massively…You’ve got [Jacob] Stockdale, [Ian] Madigan, James Hume and others that are eager to help you as a young player.”

Moxham cited his coaches and full-back, Jamie Osborne, as figures that have helped him throughout the U20 Six Nations Championship so far.

The Ulster winger said that Head Coach Richie Murphy has been a huge help to him.

His defensive game is his strong point in his own opinion and the connection he has with Osborne on the pitch has helped him to do his job well.

“Jamie’s [a] really good [communicator], it makes my job a lot easier.”

The Ireland U20s match against England U20s kicks off at 8 pm on Thursday night and will be available to watch on RTÉ News Now and the RTÉ Player.

Click here to see the starting lineup.

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The two sides will face off at 8 pm on Thursday in Cardiff, having both won their first two games ahead of their match.

Soroka is not worried about the silverware that will come with a win or the implications that a loss will have.

“We’re just treating it as another rugby game,” said Soroka.

The Leinster prospect has been a huge figure for Ireland at set-pieces and sees the clash with England as a very tough matchup, but an exciting one.

He’s gathered from the video footage studied throughout the week that England are a multi-faceted side.

They can play through teams or play around teams and have some impressive kickers.

“I think it’s pretty exciting for us as a team to play against a team that has that much quality.”

However, the utility forward is confident of his side’s abilities in a head-to-head clash with the England u20s.

The 20-year-old enjoyed his team’s two wins and believes they can play well against their biggest opposition to date on Thursday night.

Their game-by-game approach has helped the side, according to the man starting at lock on Thursday.

“We are just focusing on ourselves, not thinking about other rugby stuff.”

He believes that their set-piece will be able to challenge England’s, even if Ireland does not have the height advantage.

Soroka has studied their lineout and believes that skill and technique will be enough to counter the height advantage.

His time studying and calling the lineouts during the tournaments has proved successful with the side boasting an 88% success rate in their two games.

He believes Ireland can impose their will upon this English side, in one way or another.

“We want to show what we can do.”

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Their strong, cohesive forwards have looked powerful in their set-pieces and the side are very comfortable with playing direct or going wide.

However, Tucker has been impressed most by another aspect of their game.

“One of the most impressive things for me about the team so far has been their character,” said the forwards coach.

England have gone two from two in the 2021 U20 Six Nations Championship so far with both wins impressing Cullie.

Their bonus-point comeback win against France and their victory over Scotland after being down to 13-men at one point in the game has underlined the strength of Alan Dickens’ side.

“There’s massive threats within them.”

Fortunately, Ireland U20s have multiple threats of their own, particularly among their pack which has been very impressive in the competition so far.

Tucker praised Ireland’s set-pieces in their opening games, noting their 88% success rate at the lineout.

Their scrummaging has also been very good with over 10 players showing their quality in that area of the game.

Ireland’s depth has looked impressive in the two games, especially at prop and Tucker says that, if the quality’s there, the coaches should not be afraid to rotate.

“There’s no doubt our depth will be tested and it’s up to us as coaches to trust our squad.”

The two Alex’s – Kendellen and Soroka – both earned individual praise from their coach.

Cullie described Kendellen as a great leader who wouldn’t ask anything of his fellow players that he would not do.

The coach put Soroka’s versatility down to his hard work off the field – studying set-pieces and other team’s calls.

“His versatility has been a huge asset to us.”

Ireland U20s will play England U20s at 8 pm on Thursday with a Triple Crown at stake for Richie Murphy’s side.

The game will be available to watch on RTÉ News Now and the RTÉ Player.

The starting lineup and bench can be seen here.

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The match will kick-off at 2 pm and will be available on RTÉ One from 1:40 pm.

The pair talked about a range of topics from selection to the game plan to what they know about Scotland.

Head Coach Richie Murphy spoke first about the squad selection for Saturday’s game against Scotland.

Some issues the head coach encountered during the selection was the lack of game time the squad had and the injuries the side suffered.

“Obviously, we picked up a few injuries along the way which is disappointing for those boys and the group but with where we are at and knowing that we are playing against Scotland, knowing the strength they have, we feel that we picked the right team for this week,” said Murphy.

Joe Schmidt sent his former colleague a text wishing him the best of luck on Saturday.

On a question about possible similarities in coaching, Murphy stated that every coach must have something unique to them.

“I think with every coach you work with; you still have to have your own beliefs. You can’t copy anyone.”

Kendellen feels that the best 15 were chosen to start at the weekend but added that all players in the squad are expected to be used during the Six Nations.

Both came across as confident ahead of Saturday’s game.

However, Murphy revealed that he was nervous ahead of his first competitive game in charge of the Ireland U20s side.

The coach is very happy with the pool of players he has at his disposal but noted their lack of fixtures before the tournament as a reason for his nerves.

The side only played twice – against Leinster and Munster’s development squads.

“I feel that we’ve prepared well in the time that we have had.”

The side will be on live TV on Saturday as RTÉ One will broadcast the game.

The spotlight on the U20s is a welcome one, according to Murphy, especially at a time when their championship is isolated from the senior Six Nations.

“I think it is going to be a massive spotlight…[The six-day turnarounds] will give people the opportunity to sit in and watch the games.”

That six-day turnaround exists to give players time to recover from their previous game.

Murphy added that the lack of recent competitive experience and player safety were factors of the decision.

Kendellen spoke of the team’s complete focus on their own game plan as they were unable to study this Scotland side.

The captain added that the side will adapt to what they learn about Scotland’s game plan in-game, but the focus will be on implementing their own.

The side will want to dominate proceedings in that way.

He looks forward to playing U20 rugby for the national team.

“It’s still a huge opportunity…to even get to play rugby is huge,” said Kendellen.

Fly-half James Humphries will wear the number 10 shirt for the U20s on Saturday.

There is interest in his selection as he is the son of David Humphreys and nephew of Ian Humphreys.

However, his head coach believes he can carve his own path on Saturday and expects him to play his own game.

“It’s a difficult one for him because, obviously, he’s got an uncle and father who have gone before him (Ian and David), but I think James is very much his own man.

He’s come into the group and has applied himself really well, he’s been diligent, and he is not too dissimilar to his father – his looks, how he carries himself, how he kicks the ball…but he is very much his own man.”

Experience could be a big factor in this upcoming U20 Six Nations Championship due to the lack of game time.

Murphy believes that it is a visible factor in training but that all players in the squad show a similar hunger.

Kendellen does not feel the need to step up for the side as he is more experienced than others because of the talent within the squad.

A lot of the experience the players have had is with their clubs and their schools, showcasing the growth of rugby at that level in Ireland.

“There’s always things that we can do better in Irish Rugby…it is good to see those guys getting picked up [Craig Casey and Daniel Okeke] that are outside the traditional schools. There’s a good representation [from various schools in the squad],” said Murphy.

Kendellen spoke of his time at Presentation Brothers College in Cork all the way to Munster.

The Ireland U20 captain sees the experience he earned so far in his career as valuable.

He said: “You can’t not look at those experiences and back yourself in these moments.”

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McGrath made three appearances for the latter province with the first of those coming against Connacht at the RDS last January.

However, the 24-year-old’s new Connacht contract is the first professional contract of his career.

The prop, who can play at tighthead or loosehead, has been capped at the national U20 level.

The Wexford native played in the All-Ireland League for Landsdowne before being picked up by Leinster.

The prop said that he is looking forward to donning the province’s green shirt.

“I’m very proud to be joining Connacht and sign my first professional contract,” said McGrath. “Connacht have a great history of developing players and giving them an opportunity to impress, so I hope to make a positive impact there. I’m looking forward to making the move to the West and see what the future has in store.”

Connacht Head Coach Andy Friend welcomed the province’s newest arrival.

“He will give us the added depth that we need at tighthead but his ability to play at loose is another boost too,” said Friend.

“He’s very highly regarded on the club scene and has made a good impression during his time at Leinster, so we’re looking forward to his arrival.”

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