By Jon Steer
March 7 2014

England Students have welcomed Jacob Fields and Ben King into their match-day 23 to face Wales Students tomorrow (March 7) at Oxford University. Loughborough University's Fields starts at hooker and Exeter's King provides back-row cover on the bench, both men joining a side that enjoyed mixed results last month - beating Portgual 30-16 last month before being ousted 39-10 by France Universities.

England Students have welcomed Jacob Fields and Ben King into their match-day 23 to face Wales Students tomorrow (March 7) at Oxford University.

Loughborough University's Fields starts at hooker and Exeter's King provides back-row cover on the bench, both men joining a side that enjoyed mixed results last month – beating Portgual 30-16 last month before being ousted 39-10 by France Universities.

“We are feeling very positive,” said England Students manager Philip Llewellyn. “France was a great experience for the boys, facing 13 players who have played in the Top 14. It was a big step up and they learnt a lot.

“We are very confident going into this game, we are looking to play an improved game from the France match. We are going to keep are standards high and improve on certain aspects of our game to make sure we put out a performance  that represents us as a group.

“Playing Wales is always a huge challenge. There is a lot of history there and it is always a difficult task. The confrontation areas are key. We will look to dominate the set piece and breakdown. If we can win that battle then we can use it as a platform to play our game, to let the boys go out there and use their skill set.

“We have to win the contacts and get on the front foot. The boys are all very talented so we need to give them the opportunity to go out there and show it.”

Turning to the new faces in the set-up, Llewellyn seemed convinced they could make an immediate impact.

“The new lads have bedded in well”, he said. “We have had one day less in camp but they have got up to speed well. They have come into the camp with a great attitude and have done well.

“The whole squad is a great bunch of boys and they have all helped them learn the plays and feel part of the squad.”

England Students to face Wales Students
15. Guy Wood
14. Jake Henry
13. Sebastian Rodwell
12. Ben Axten-Burrett
11. Murray Galbraith-Lowe
10. Mark Cook
9. Rob Coote

1. Matthew Beesley
2. Jacob Fields
3. Adam Jamieson
4. Sean Robinson
5. Josh Walker
6. George Messum (captain)
7. Tom Hall
8. Freddie Clarke

Replacements

16. Alec Clarey
17. Lovejoy Chawatama
18. Nathan Taylor
19. Will Witty
20. Ben King
21. Oliver Claxton
22. George Cullen
23. Joe Beckett