Geri in starting XV for England U20

OA Saints' Geri Thomas will be in the starting XV for England Women’s Under 20s when they to take on Wales U20s on Wednesday April 27th at Hartpury College (kick off 2pm). England U20s Head Coach Amanda Bennett has made sevens changes and two positional changes to the starting line-up that beat Scotland last month.

Lichfield’s Harriet Mills will captain the England U20s, with Emily Kingston, Mica Evans, Poppy Cleall, Mills, Rebecca Hughes, Louise Dennis and Geri all coming into the starting line-up. Fiona Fletcher and Abi Scott also swap positions in the second row.

England will be looking for a third win on the bounce after a 12-5 victory over France and a 77-0 win over Scotland earlier this year. The fixture is the last of the England’s U20s home fixtures ahead of their summer tour to America in July in the Nations Cup.

Bennett said: “Although we are delighted with two wins from our first two games, the most important aspect is the quality of performance. 24 of the 26 Under 20s squad members have had the opportunity to start against France or Scotland and we have seen individual progress as well as two very good, if different, team performances.

“The aim against Wales is to continue on that curve – focusing our attention on the essential technical and tactical elements that we’ve prioritised in training. The squad is also beginning to grow and although there is clearly competition for places, the players are clearly gelling and this bodes well for the Nations Cup.

“We have a mixed record against Wales, suffering one defeat last year. Certainly this represents one of our toughest games this season and we expect them to be well drilled, tenacious and unpredictable. Another win would be nice but another strong performance is what we are looking for. This would be the best platform from which we launch our Nations Cup campaign.”

15 Rachel Roberts (Gloucester, South West)
14 Katie Mason (Bristol, Somerset, South West)
13 Amy Wilson-Hardy (Bristol, Sussex, South West)
12 Louise Dennis (Worcester, North Midlands, Midlands)
11 Rebecca Hughes (Bristol, Somerset, South West)
10 Emily Scott (Thurrock, Essex, London & South East)
9 Charlotte Keane (Worcester, South West)
1 Emily Kingston (Gloucester, Gloucestershire, South West)
2 Geri Thomas (Old Albanian Saints, Hertfordshire, London & SE)
3 Mica Evans(Exeter Saracens, Devon,South West)
4 Fiona Fletcher (Lichfield, Staffordshire, Midlands)
5 Abbie Scott (Keswick, Cumbria,North)
6 PoppyCleall (Bristol, Hampshire,South West)
7 Megan Oaten(Bristol, Gloucestershire, South West)
8 Harriet Mills (C) (Lichfield, Staffordshire, Midlands)

Replacements:
16 Charlie Notman (Newquay Hornets (Queen Bees), Cornwall, South West)
17 Daniker Willmore (Bristol, South West)
18 Alexandra Matthews (London Irish, Surrey, London & South East)
19 Hannah Gallagher (Saracens, Hertfordshire, London & South East)
20 N/A
21 Leanne Riley (Worcester, North Midlands, Midlands)
22 Georgia Peedle (Worcester, Hertfordshire, London & South East)