# England national under-20 rugby union team

The England Under 20 rugby team are the newest representative rugby union team from England. They replace the two former age grade teams Under 19s and Under 21s. They compete in the annual Six Nations Under 20s Championship and World Rugby Under 20 Championship.
The head coach of the team is Alan Dickens.

## World Rugby Under 20 Championship

Their first tournament was the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship, in which they took second place, being defeated by New Zealand 3–38 in the final. The following year saw England finish runners up to New Zealand again at the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship.
At the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship, they reached the semi-finals after winning all of their pool stage games against Argentina, Ireland and France. They lost the semi-final to Australia 16–28 and then lost against South Africa 22–27 to finish in 4th place. England finished runners up to New Zealand again at the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship.
At the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship, England defeated New Zealand 33-21 in the semi-final. In the final against Wales, tries from Jack Nowell and Sam Hill saw England recover from a dozen point half-time deficit to become World Champions at junior level for the first time.
England retained their title at the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship, defeating South Africa in the final. The following year saw England lose in the final of the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship to New Zealand. England hosted the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. They regained the title after defeating Ireland in the final.
England were runners up to both New Zealand at the 2017 tournament and hosts France at the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. England won the 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship, defeating France 21-13 in the final.

### Championship record

| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA |
| 2008 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 148 | 104 |
| 2009 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 193 | 79 |
| 2010 | Semi-final | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 139 | 107 |
| 2011 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 153 | 114 |
| 2012 | Pool stage | 7th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 128 | 88 |
| 2013 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 219 | 73 |
| 2014 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 181 | 78 |
| 2015 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 151 | 94 |
| 2016 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 193 | 61 |
| 2017 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 169 | 144 |
| 2018 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 174 | 97 |
| 2019 | Pool stage | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 181 | 147 |
| 2020–2022 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2023 | Semi-final | 4th | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 155 | 137 |
| 2024 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 157 | 77 |
| Total | 14/14 | 4 Titles | 70 | 453 | 2 | 15 | 2,341 | 1,400 |

## Overall

All results, up to and including the 2020 Six Nations Under 20s Championship and the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.
| Opponent | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | % Won |
| Argentina | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Australia | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 85.71% |
| Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Fiji | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| France | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 66.67% |
| Ireland | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 65.00% |
| Italy | 18 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 94.45% |
| Japan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| New Zealand | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16.66% |
| Samoa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Scotland | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 88.23% |
| South Africa | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 72.72% |
| United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Wales | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 81.25% |
| Total | 123 | 95 | 28 | 0 | 77.87% |

## Players
### Current squad

This is the England Under-20s squad for the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship.
| Player | Position | Club |
| Nathan Jibulu | Hooker | Harlequins |
| Finn Theobald-Thomas | Hooker | Gloucester |
| Craig Wright | Hooker | Northampton Saints |
| Ethan Clarke | Prop | Harlequins |
| Afolabi Fasogbon | Prop | Gloucester |
| James Halliwell | Prop | Bristol Bears |
| Archie McArthur | Prop | Gloucester |
| Asher Opoku-Fordjour | Prop | Sale Sharks |
| Harry Browne | Lock | Harlequins |
| Finn Carnduff | Lock | Leicester Tigers |
| Lewis Chessum | Lock | Leicester Tigers |
| Harvey Cuckson | Lock | Bath |
| Zach Carr | Back Row | Harlequins |
| Chandler Cunningham-South | Back Row | Harlequins |
| Greg Fisilau | Back Row | Exeter Chiefs |
| Nathan Michelow | Back Row | Saracens |
| Tristan Woodman | Back Row | Sale Sharks |
| Charlie Bracken | Scrum-half | Saracens |
| Nye Thomas | Scrum-half | Sale Sharks |
| Sam Harris | Fly-half | Bath |
| Louie Johnson | Fly-half | Newcastle Falcons |
| Jacob Cusick | Centre | Leicester Tigers |
| Joe Jenkins | Centre | Bristol Bears |
| Rekeiti Ma'asi-White | Centre | Sale Sharks |
| Toby Thame | Centre | Northampton Saints |
| Joseph Woodward | Centre | Leicester Tigers |
| Cassius Cleaves | Wing | Harlequins |
| Alex Wills | Wing | Sale Sharks |
| Tobias Elliot | Full-back | Saracens |
| Connor Slevin | Full-back | Harlequins |

### Award winners

The following England U20s players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2008:
World Rugby Junior Player of the Year :
| Year | Nominees | Winners |
| 2008 | Joe Simpson | — |
| 2009 | Carl Fearns | — |
| 2011 | George Ford | George Ford |
| 2013 | Jack Clifford | — |
| 2014 | Nathan Earle | — |
| 2015 | James Chisholm | James Chisholm |
| 2016 | Harry Mallinder | — |
| 2017 | Gabriel Ibitoye | — |
| 2017 | Zach Mercer | — |
| 2018 | Gabriel Ibitoye (2) | — |
| 2018 | Jordan Olowofela | — |

### Management

* Mark Mapletoft (head coach)
* Andy Titterrell (forwards coach)

## Honours

* Under-20 Rugby World Cup
    Winners (4): 2013, 2014, 2016, 2024
    Runners-up (6): 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018
* Under-20 Six Nations
    Winners (8): 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2024
    Grand Slam (4): 2008, 2011, 2017, 2021
    Triple Crown (6): 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2021