Marler skippers England U18 squad

4:44pm Thursday 17th July 2008

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England Under 18s team to face Tucuman in Argentina The England Under 18s team to face Tucuman Under 18s in Argentina on Saturday at Los Torcos, kick-off 8pm (BST) has today (Thursday) been announced.

The match is the first of four games for the England Under 18s team while they are in Argentina, and they go into their South American tour on the back of a Grand Slam of victories in the Six Nations Festival this season.

The starting line-up includes 12 players who featured in the successful Six Nations Festival campaign, as well as two players, Will Welch and Marcus Watson, who have made the step up from the England Under 18s Association Europeenne de Rugby (AER) squad. Centre Owen Farrell, an England Under 16s player this season, has also been given the nod to start. Harlequins prop Joe Marler will captain the side.

England Under 18s Head Coach John Fletcher said: "We are really looking forward to our first match on this important development tour. We arrived in Argentina on Tuesday morning and ever since it has been uncharacteristically warm and very sunny.

"Training has been going very well and considering the addition of new players to this Under 18s squad, all the lads have bonded very well. That is exactly what we need as we have to be on top of our came come Saturday. We know Tucuman will be a very physical side, but we are looking forward to our first game and getting this tour started."

England Under 18s 1 Joe Marler (C) Harlequins 2 Jamie George Saracens Haileybury 3 Mako Vunipola Bristol Rugby Millfield 4 Tom Holmes Sale Sharks Sandbach 5 James Gaskell Sale Sharks Sandbach 6 Will Welch Newcastle Falcons RGS Newcastle 7 Joe Barker Leeds Carnegie QEGS Wakefield 8 Jamie Gibson London Irish Marlborough College 9 Sam Harrison Leicester Tigers John Cleveland College 10 Freddie Burns Gloucester Rugby Bath College 11 Will Hurrell Leicester Tigers Queen Elizabeth II 12 Owen Farrell Saracens St Georges 13 Andy Forsyth Leicester Tigers QEGS Wakefield 14 Marcus Watson London Irish St George's College 15 Jack Wallace London Wasps RGS High Wycombe Replacements: 16 David Blackwell Gloucester Rugby Hartpury 17 Peter Austin London Irish Worthing College 18 Joe Quinn St Wilfred's School Leeds Carnegie 19 Sam Jones London Wasps Aylesbury Grammar School 20 Sam Edgerley London Irish Wellington College 21 Joe Cobden Leicester Tigers King Edward VI Lichfield 22 Rory Clegg Newcastle Falcons Barnard Castle 23 Jordi Pasqualin Gloucester Rugby The Kings School