France look to have done Ireland a major favour as they name a very strong starting team to play England in the final round of the U20 Six Nations. Ireland and England are duking it out for the U20 Six Nations Championship after their pulsating draw last week in Bath.
As it stands England are on 18 points at the top of the table, one ahead of Ireland. Therefore, Ireland would likely need England to drop points or at least not earn a bonus point victory on their trip to France this Friday to stand any chance of winning the Championship.
France, who are sitting in third aren't in any realistic contention. Home losses to Ireland in Round 1 and to Italy in Round 3 has put the reigning World Cup champions all but out of contention. France will need a very specific and unlikely set of results to happen if they are to win as they are 5 points behind England. However despite this French coach Sébastien Calvet has named a very strong team with a lot of experience.
🔄 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼 #FranceU20
Suite à la mise à disposition des joueurs par le XV de France Masculin, Posolo TUILAGI intègre la composition d'équipe U20 pour la rencontre face à l'Angleterre. Simon HUCHET sera finisseur.#FRAANG #SixNationsU20 #NeFaisonsXV pic.twitter.com/KdZpIXtXPo
— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) March 14, 2024
Posolo Tuilagi makes his return to the U20s after playing in the first three rounds of the Men's Six Nations. He was unstoppable at the U20s World Cup last summer and is one of the most highly touted French prospects. His size and power is intimidating in the men's game, let alone at the under-20 level and it's another headache England will have to deal with.
Unlike for most of the Irish team, a majority of the French U20 team have played professional rugby, whether that's in the Top 14 or the second tier Pro D2. For example, scrum-half and captain Léo Carbonneau has made 22 appearances for Brive this season, starting in 16 of them. Add that onto the 10 outings he made last season and Carbonneau has over 30 appearances in professional appearances before even turning 20.
It's not just Carbonneau who has this valuable experience. It's prevalent throughout the starting team and paints a daunting task for England is they are to get out of France with a win.
Posolo Tuilagi comes into the France U20s team to take on England after being released from the senior team
Takes the senior appearances in the squad to 218 for club, and three full France caps https://t.co/ghhmgeEK1m
— Paul Eddison (@pauleddison) March 14, 2024
What Ireland U20s Need To Do To Win Six Nations Championship
For Ireland Richie Murphy made two changes to his starting team ahead of the final round match with Scotland. Henry Walker starts at hooker in place of Danny Sheahan who goes to the bench. Sean Edogbo also returns to the starting lineup, coming in for lock Alan Spicer with Joe Hopes moving into the second row and Edogbo taking the blindside flanker jersey.
Ireland U20-Scotland U20 kick's off at 7pm Friday while France U20s-England U20 starts at 8. That means England will know Ireland's result and what they have to do around the start of the second half and Ireland will have to wait and see if they are Six Nations Champions for a third year in-a-row.
Ireland need a bonus point win against Scotland Friday to guarantee any chance of winning. Scotland are currently at the foot of the table, winless and have a points difference of -69 so it's fair to expect Ireland to win and potentially get a bonus point.
If England lose in France and Ireland win, Ireland will become Six Nations Champions. If England win, Ireland need them to get a bonus point win and hope England don't get a bonus point so they finish level on points. It will then go down to points difference which England currently having a 17 point lead on Ireland on. Therefore Ireland will need to rack up the score against Scotland if they can to try swing the points difference in their favour.
It's all set to be a dramatic evening on Friday as Ireland look to make history and win back-to-back-to-back Six Nations titles for the first time in their history.
SEE ALSO: Ex-Ireland U20 International To Make Intriguing Move To Japan
