U20 Men squad named for World Rugby U20 Championship

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - JANUARY 31: Scotland head coach Kenny Murray speaks to his players during a huddle before an Under-20's Six Nations match between Scotland and Italy at the Hive Stadium, on January 31, 2025, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group)

Scotland will play England on Sunday 29 June, Australia on Friday 4 July and South Africa on Wednesday 9 July in the group stages of the competition.

Freddy Douglas and Johnny Ventisei will co-captain the squad, with both having led the team during 2025 U20 Six Nations matches.

29 of the 30-player squad were selected in either the 2024 World Rugby U20 Trophy or 2025 U20 Six Nations squads. Jed Findlay, the full-back who featured in last week’s friendly win over Ireland U20, features in a tournament squad for the first time. Will Pearce and Oliver Finlayson-Russell are the other players yet to feature in a competitive match for Scotland U20, with both in the wider Six Nations squad but not making an appearance.

Three of the squad have made debuts for Scottish professional sides in the past season. Douglas and Jack Brown both played for Edinburgh Rugby in the URC this season, with Douglas also earning a full international cap against Portugal in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series, while Seb Stephen recently made his Glasgow Warriors debut away to Leinster. Reuben Logan is also selected after featuring for Northampton Saints in the Gallagher Premiership this season.

Jack Hocking is selected for the squad having recovered from an injury, and could make his first competitive appearance since featuring for Hawick in the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership against Musselburgh on 4 October 2024.

Murray said: “It’s fantastic to be back in the U20 Championship having won the trophy last year, and it provides a really important chance for our best young talent to play against some of the best players in the world at this level, which will help their development massively.

“We’ve had a long preparation block with a wider squad, and we had a really strong group to pick from.

“The group took some confidence from beating Ireland in the friendly last week but there was also plenty for us to work on, and we know we’ll have to be better in the Championship.

“The group stage fixtures will obviously be tough, but we’ve trained well and the opportunity is there for the players to put in 80-minute performances that really show what we’re capable of.”

Scotland U20 Men squad for the 2025 World Rugby U20 Championship

Forwards

Ollie Blyth-Lafferty (Edinburgh Rugby)
Dylan Cockburn (Melrose RFC)
Freddy Douglas – CO-CAPTAIN (Edinburgh Rugby)
Oliver Duncan (Edinburgh Rugby)
Oliver Finlayson-Russell (University of St Andrews)
Mark Fyffe (University of Edinburgh)
Bart Godsell (Loughborough University)
Dan Halkon (Glasgow Warriors)
Reuben Logan (Northampton Saints)
Oliver McKenna (Glasgow Warriors)
Charlie Moss (Montpellier)
Will Pearce (Cardiff Metropolitan University/Bristol Bears)
Joe Roberts (Glasgow Warriors)
Jake Shearer (Glasgow Warriors)
Seb Stephen (Glasgow Warriors)
Jamie Stewart (Edinburgh Rugby)
Ben White (Melrose RFC/Edinburgh Rugby)

Backs

Jack Brown (Edinburgh Rugby)
Isaac Coates (Edinburgh Rugby)
Noah Cowan (Brunel University/Ealing Trailfinders)
Jed Findlay (Exeter Chiefs)
Jack Hocking (Edinburgh Rugby)
Angus Hunter (Heriot’s Rugby)
Nairn Moncrieff (Edinburgh Rugby)
Hector Patterson (Edinburgh Rugby)
Matthew Urwin (Glasgow Warriors)
Cameron van Wyk (Ayr RFC)
Johnny Ventisei – CO-CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors)
Fergus Watson (Glasgow Warriors)
Kerr Yule (Glasgow Warriors)