Young guns from Worcester Warriors fired for England when they were in action over the weekend.
Number eight Matt Kvesic, a product of the AASE scheme at Warriors — the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence — scored to help England Under 18 AER to a 50-14 win over Japan High Schools at Plymouth Albion.
Worcester Sixth Form College student Kvesic is part of the AASE Scheme, which is backed by the RFU at a dozen colleges and schools who have formed successful partnerships with local professional clubs.
Kvesic, who was capped by England Under 16s last season, is just one of many young players who combine first class coaching from Worcester Warriors while pursuing academic qualifications, which they can fall back on if they fail to secure a professional contract.
Three of Kvesic’s Worcester team-mates won caps as second-half replacements with props Chris Fox and Louis Padian and scrum-half Joel Dudley (all Bromsgrove School) getting the chance to impress the national selectors.
Centre Andy Short, another AASE product, came on as a second-half replacement in the England Under 18 Five Nations squad’s 63-0 win over Scotland at Newcastle.