Maro Itoje has been named in England's starting XV to take on Italy © Getty Images

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England Under-20s have named their side to take on Italy as they begin the defence of their IRB Junior World Championship title in Auckland on Monday.

The two sides last met in the final round of the Six Nations, with England winning 52-5. But head coach Nick Walshe says previous results mean nothing going into the game.

"We're looking forward to kicking off this campaign, we've been in New Zealand for over a week now - the lads are acclimatised and have trained well," he said. "They've taken real ownership and can't wait to get out there. We did well against Italy in the Six Nations but that game has gone, we're focused on performing well in this game and kick-starting our JWC. "

England U20s: Aaron Morris (Bedford); George Catchpole (Leicester), Nick Tompkins (Saracens), Harry Sloan (Harlequins), Nathan Earle (Saracens); Sam Olver (Northampton), Callum Braley (Bristol, Capt.); Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi (Northampton), Tom Woolstencroft (Bath), Paul Hill (Leeds); Maro Itoje (Saracens), Tom Ellis (Bath); Ross Moriarty (Gloucester), Gus Jones (London Wasps), James Chisholm (Harlequins).

Replacements: Jack Walker (Leeds), Alex Lundberg (London Wasps), Biyi Alo (Saracens), Charlie Ewels (Bath), Joel Conlon (Exeter), Henry Taylor (Loughborough University), Billy Burns (Gloucester), Henry Purdy (Leicester). Italy U20s: Matteo Gasparini; Daniele di Giulio, Gabriele Manganiello, Samuel Seno, Filippo Lombardo; Filippo Buscema (Capt.), Simone Parisotto; Derrick Appiah, Daniele Adriano, Paolo Buonfiglio; Riccardo Michieletto, Filippo Scalvi; Matteo Archetti, Renato Giammarioli, Andrea Trotta.

Replacements: Cherif Traore, Marco Silva, Simone Pietro Ferrari, Marco Lazzaroni, Matteo Cornelli, Maicol Azzolini, Giacomo de Santis, Gabriele di Giulio