Titterrell urges England U20 to make New Zealand fear them in rare Junior World Championship bronze final

England U20 head coach Andy Titterrell has challenged his side to make New Zealand fear them when the two nations meet in the 2026 World Rugby Junior World Championship third-place play-off in Georgia on Saturday. It will be the first time England have faced the Baby Blacks in almost nine years, and Titterrell is determined his squad treat the occasion as a privilege rather than a consolation.

Titterrell has made four changes to the starting XV beaten by South Africa, bringing in Northampton Saints scrum-half Jonny Weimann for his first U20 start of the season alongside Saracens inside centre Finn Keylock, Saints openside Jack Lewis and Leicester Tigers No. 8 George Marsh. On the bench, Saracens pair Alan Poku and Zac Finch, plus Gloucester Rugby’s Freddie Ogden-Metherell and Kealan Freeman-Price are in line for their first appearances since a 68-40 Matchday 2 victory over the USA.

“The lads are in a really good spot,” Titterrell said. “The one thing I want our team to be is a team that fights for everything. And don’t go around kicking stones if we find ourselves a score down. That’s shown throughout the whole season, through the Six Nations as well as the World Cup. The boys will fight for each other.”

The England head coach was keen to frame the bronze final as an opportunity rather than a disappointment, pointing to the rarity of the fixture as added motivation. “We’ve only played them about six times,” he noted. “Last time was about nine years ago, and they’ve got to be able to cope with us and fear us. It’s a brilliant opportunity for the guys to put on another England shirt and to play an international, and they’ve got to take pride in playing for their country.”

England U20 XV: George Pearson (Leicester Tigers); Tyler Offiah (Bath Rugby), Nick Lilley (Exeter Chiefs), Finn Keylock (Saracens), Sam Winters (Bath Rugby); Hugh Shields (Northampton U18), Jonny Weimann (Northampton Saints); Oliver Scola (Northampton Saints), Jimmy Staples (Harlequins), Ollie Streeter (Harlequins), Elliot Williams (Harlequins), Aiden Ainsworth-Cave (captain, Northampton Saints), Tate Williams (Harlequins), Jack Lewis (Northampton Saints), George Marsh (Leicester Tigers).

Replacements: Jerold Gorleku (Harlequins), Alan Poku (Saracens), Sonny Tonga’uiha (Northampton Saints), Freddie Ogden-Metherell (Gloucester Rugby), Kealan Freeman-Price (Gloucester Rugby), Lucas Friday (Harlequins), Will Knight (Gloucester Rugby), Zac Finch (Saracens).