Trio in line for England U18s bow against the Welsh

MAX Coyle, Kieran Wilkinson and Kieran Verden will all make their England U18s debute after being named by John Fletcher for the clash against Wales in Ebbw Vale today.

Reigate Grammar pupil Coyle will start on the left wing after recovering from the concussion he suffered playing for Harlequins in the Premiership U18s final.

Sale’s Wilkinson has been handed the reins of the attack while Verden will anchor the scrum from tighthead.

The trio are among 12 changes made by Fletcher ahead of the Five Nations tournament next month.

England U18 have won two from two warm-up friendlies so far, beating Scotland and France while Wales go into the game on the back of a 46-34 defeat to the French last week.

“We are pleased with how we have performed and we are getting good transfer from our training sessions into the games,” said head coach Fletcher.

“The main aim is to improve on the last two performances and it’s a really good opportunity for the selected players to test themselves against a strong Welsh team. We have had many great games against Wales in the past and I’m excited to see how we perform.”

There will be an interesting match-up from full-back with England’s Ben Loader taking on his Wellington College teammate Dylan Moss.

Wales head coach Geraint Lewis said: “It was an excellent experience in France. Although we conceded 46 points, we weren’t far off matching that number ourselves, so it’s very positive.

“It’s our last game of these standalone fixtures, and we want to head into th U18 International Series with some momentum.”