Saturday, June 20, 2009 - Submitted by Churchill Cup Tournament
ENGLAND SAXONS Head Coach Stuart Lancaster has named his side to face Ireland A in this Sunday's Churchill Cup final (2.30pm, MST).
The squad sees the return of Bath Rugby's Stuart Hooper, who led the Saxons to their 28-20 victory over Argentina Jaguars in their first pool match and Luke Narraway (Gloucester Rugby) will start at No.8 in place of Tom Guest (Harlequins).
Sale Sharks' Neil Briggs and Chris Jones give way on the bench to Joe Ward (London Wasps) and Dean Schofield (Sale Sharks) respectively, who both feature for the first time this tournament after recovering from injury.
And Shane Geraghty (London Irish) has recovered from a groin strain to take his place on the bench.
Said Lancaster: "There have been some difficult selection decisions. I have been delighted with all the players and how they have responded and it says a tremendous amount about the character in the squad.
"For us it's a massive challenge we respect Ireland A with the quality of players and management they have over here. We have some young players and some very experienced Premiership players and our challenge has been to mould then into a team and produce performances we are proud of.
"We have had two tough games in which we have leant a lot about the players and ourselves on the journey and I'm sure we will learn a lot more come Sunday. But whatever the outcome rest assured they are a committed group of players who will do their best and be proud to represent England in the final."
Ireland A are aiming to claim their first Churchill Cup final win after taking the Plate for the past three years.
Northampton Saints flanker Neil Best will captain the side, which includes Jonathan Sexton at fly-half.
Head Coach Declan Kidney said: "We came to this tournament to ensure we would have another crop of players coming through. It's a great opportunity for players to put their best foot forward. We know the size of the challenge ahead of us on Sunday and are undo no illusions."
England Saxons 15 Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby) 14 Noah Cato (Saracens) 13 Dominic Waldouck (London Wasps) 12 Brad Barritt (Saracens) 11 Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers) 10 Stephen Myler (Northampton Saints) 9 Micky Young (Newcastle Falcons) 1 David Flatman (Bath Rugby) 2 Rob Webber (London Wasps) 3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers) 4 Stuart Hooper (Bath Rugby) 5 Nick Kennedy (London Irish) 6 Phil Dowson (capt, Newcastle Falcons,) 7 Ben Woods (Leicester Tigers) 8 Luke Narraway (Gloucester Rugby) Replacements 16 Tom Mercey (Saracens) 17 Joe Ward (London Wasps) 18 Dean Schofield (Sale Sharks) 19 Tom Guest (Harlequins) 20 Joe Simpson (London Wasps) 21 Danny Cipriani (London Wasps) 22 Shane Geraghty (London Irish)
Ireland A 1 Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 2 Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht) 3 Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster) 4 Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster) 5 Devon Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 6 Neil Best (capt, Northampton Saints) 7 Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster) 8 Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster) 9 Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster) 10 Jonathan Sexton (St.Mary's College/Leinster) 11 Johne Murphy (Leicester Tigers) 12 Keith Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht) 13 Fergus McFadden (UCD/Leinster) 14 Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster) 15 Felix Jones (Seapoint/Leinster) Replacements 16 Dennis Fogarty (Cork Constitution/Munster) 17 Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster) 18 Trevor Hogan (Blackrock College/Leinster) 19 John Muldoon (Buccanneers/Connacht) 20 Simon Geogh (OId Belvedere/Leinster) 21 Niall O'Connor (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) 22 James Downey (Northampton Saints)
Churchill Cup finals day June 21 Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City Plate (3rd/4th place) final: Canada v Argentina Jaguars (12.05pm) Cup (Championship) final: England Saxons v Ireland A (2.30pm) Bowl (5th/6th place) final: USA v Georgia (4.45pm)
2010 Churchill Cup Finals Canada vs England Match Highlights
