Ben Howard is one of only four players to retain their place in the starting line-up for England Under 20s’ final pool game of the IRB Junior World Championship against USA (kick-off 5.45pm GMT).
England have named 11 changes from the side that lost 31-24 against South Africa – but Howard will start for the third consecutive match.
With a semi-final spot still up for grabs, England need to ensure a bonus point victory to stand any chance of progressing.
Northampton Saints scrum half Alex Day captains the side for the first team, and the number nine is relishing the opportunity.
He said: “It’s a massive honour to be named captain for this game. It’s something that you dream of when you’re little and to achieve it is pretty exciting – I’m massively proud and I just want to go out there and do a good job.
“We’re staying in the same hotel as the USA and we know that they’re going to be up for it, but we’ve prepared well and we’re looking forward to the game.”
With seven changes coming in the forward division, Forwards Coach Ian Peel explains why he has freshened it up.
He said: “We’ve had two really physical Tests [against France and South Africa] and we just wanted to freshen things up. The guys who we’ve brought in have been coming off the bench and now it’s their turn to start and make an impact from the get-go. We’ve got a really strong squad we want to use everybody – it keeps bodies fresh and we have full confidence in the whole squad.”
England Under 20 starting XV against USA
15 Ollie Devoto (Bath Rugby)
14 Ben Howard (Worcester Warriors)
13 Tom Stephenson (Northampton Saints)
12 Harry Sloan (Harlequins)
11 Henry Purdy (Leicester Tigers)
10 Will Hooley (Northampton Saints)
9 Alex Day (Northampton Saints) (c)
1 Alec Hepburn (London Wasps)
2 Scott Spurling (Saracens)
3 Tom Smallbone (London Irish)
4 Harry Wells (Leicester Tigers)
5 Tom Price (Leicester Tigers)
6 Ross Moriarty (Gloucester Rugby)
7 Joel Conlon (Exeter Chiefs)
8 David Sisi (Bath Rugby)
Replacements:
16 Nathan Morris (London Wasps)
17 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi (Northampton Saints)
18 Scott Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)
19 Dominic Barrow (Leeds Carnegie)
20 Jack Clifford (Harlequins)
21 Callum Braley (Bristol Rugby)
22 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
23 Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)