Ilione leads England in battle with Springboks

EMEKA Ilione captains England Under-20s against South Africa in this afternoon’s opening game of the Six Nations Summer Series, with his Leicester Tigers team-mates Lewis Chessum and Jed Walsh also in the matchday squad.

Ilione wins his seventh cap at openside flanker while lock Chessum, the younger brother of Ollie, starts in the second row with fly-half Walsh among the replacements.

England face South Africa at the Payanini Centre in Verona, Italy, in a 4pm (UK time) kick-off.

Head coach Alan Dickens said: “The team is excited to play against South Africa although they are a little bit of an unknown as they haven’t played any games this year at an international level.

“The opportunities for this group to learn and develop over this series are immense and I’m as excited about the players having meaningful game time as I am the result.”

Meanwhile, the Red Roses will play two international matches in September in preparation for October’s Women’s Rugby World Cup.

England will play the United States at Exeter’s Sandy Park on Saturday, September 3 before they face Wales at Ashton Gate in Bristol on Wednesday, September 14.

England head coach Simon Middleton said: “These matches are important for all three teams’ preparations before heading out to New Zealand and will be exciting contests.

Loughborough Lightning stars, captain Sarah Hunter and centre Emily Scarratt, helped England win a fourth consecutive Women’s Six Nations championship with a 24-12 victory in France in April.

The World Cup in New Zealand runs from October 8 to November 12.

Two-time winners England are one of favourites to win the competition.