England Under-20s coach Alan Dickens believes the best is still to come from England after making two changes to his starting XV to take on Scotland in the Under-20s Six Nations this weekend.
Those two alterations to the side that defeated France 29-24 in Round 1 are Harvey Beaton replacing Luke Green in the front row, while Freddie Steward comes in for injured Josh Hodge at full-back.
There are two changes among the replacements also, Josh Gray coming in for Jack Clement, while Ollie Sleightholme is also named as a finisher.
England Under-20s secured a bonus-point victory over Les Bleuets in Round 1 and will look to build on that success at Myreside on Friday night.
Dickens said: “The players have recovered well after a physical game in France on Saturday, analysed the match, and we’ve had a good week’s preparation ahead of Friday’s fixture.
“We’ve implemented a couple of new things ahead of the game and we know it is going to be another huge challenge that we have to take very seriously.
“The last time we played in Scotland they came out winners so we’ll be well prepared for what awaits us on Friday. It will no doubt be another challenging environment, but the players have shown they can handle that and I’ve been impressed by how quickly they have gelled as a group.
“There are always areas to work on and improve, but this is a new group, we had nine debutants at U20s level start last Saturday’s game so this team will only get better the more they play together and I’m expecting an improvement in Edinburgh on Friday.
“What impressed me on Saturday was our ability to adapt tactically and we know that will again be important against Scotland.”
England Under-20s team to play Scotland
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
14. Gabriel Hamer-Webb (Bath Rugby)
13. Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks)
12. Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby)
11. Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
10. Manu Vunipola (Saracens)
9. Sam Maunder (Exeter Chiefs) – captain
1. James Whitcombe (Leicester Tigers)
2. Theo Dan (Saracens)
3. Harvey Beaton (Saracens)
4. George Hammond (Harlequins)
5. Ben Donnell (London Irish)
6. Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs)
7. JJ Tonks (Northampton Saints)
8. Rusi Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)
Replacements
16. Ben Atkins (London Irish)
17. Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints)
18. Luke Green (London Irish)
19. Hugh Tizard (Harlequins)
20. Josh Gray (Gloucester Rugby)
21. Jack Van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
22. George Barton (Gloucester Rugby)
23. Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
England men U20s Six Nations fixtures and results
France 24-29 England
Scotland v England, Friday 7 February, KO 7.30pm GMT, Myreside, Edinburgh
England v Ireland, Friday, 21 February, KO 7.45pm GMT, Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton. Live on Sky Sports
England v Wales, Friday, 6 March, KO 7.45pm GMT, Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester. Live on Sky Sports.
Italy v England, Sunday, 15 March, KO 5.30pm GMT, Payanini Rugby Center, Verona
