The Worcester Academy played England Under-18s on Sunday with the young Warriors of the future from Sixways Stadium claiming a well deserved victory.
We had hoped to play this fixture at Sixways, but due to several issues, it was held at Bromsgrove School on Sunday instead.
The Warriors, a team made up of our 1st year full time Warriors Academy, our apprentices in the AASE programme at Worcester VI Form College, and West Midlands School’s players from our U17-18 EPDG Gold group.
Due to the full-timers involvement in Monday’s ‘A’ league against Newcastle Falcons, meant that we would only play them for a short while, but consequently gave the ‘youngsters’ a chance to shine.
Twelve of the Warriors squad were made up of players that were still eligible to have played for England this year at this age group and half of those still eligible next season.
The match was to be played in four quarters – 2 x 20 minute and 2 x 15 minute sessions – thus allowing England to make unit changes to their team structure. By the end of the second 20 minute session Worcester were five tries to two up.
England really were made to struggle to contain our boys, both individually and as a team. Although we had never played together as a team before, the lads had benefitted from the continuous input, both physically, tactically and individually that they receive at EPDG sessions, and in the AASE programme, both mirroring as closely as possible, the full time Academy. Worcester continually posing problems, by presenting target runners from restarts, effective breakdown clearance, and quick ball to evidently a more superior backline.
England’s were a large physical side, their team included two Warriors EPDG players Hugh McBride at prop and Hugh Lockhart playing at 7, Damon Poole sidelined through injury.
In the third quarter England took to keeping the ball close to their pack, and played to keep ball, which gave them some continuity. We remained patient and, although our defence tried to remain resolute, we conceded a try from a continual pick and go. Warriors then hit back with a further two tries.
In the final session, the Warriors took to pushing the ball wide and stretching what was already a very tired England defence, and along with controlled work at the breakdown, thus creating faster ball to the backs, and creating space for our fast boys to finish things off.
There was a little debate at the end whether we had scored nine or ten tries to England’s four, but all in all an emphatic win and performance from the Warriors deserved praise!
The Warriors: *U18, **U17
Ryan Furness (AASE), Will Radburn (Acad), Louis Padian (Acad), Nile Dacres (Acad), James Clutterbuck (Acad), **Rhys Morgan (Denstone), Tom Leach (Acad), *Barnaby Woods (Bromsgrove), Joel Dudley (Acad), Caolan Ryan (AASE), **Saheed Agboke (Denstone), *Rhys Owen (Warwick School), James Whybrow (Acad), Sam Baker (Stourbridge), *Ben Howard (Warwick School), George Bee (Acad), **Jack Cosgrove (Hartpury), *Jamie Currie (Denstone), **Soloman Dacres (KEGS Five Ways), **Josh Buggea (Hartpury), **Sam Waltier (Bromsgrove), **Josh Watkins (Bromsgrove), **Dan Young (Bromsgrove), Tom Carlisle (AASE), Louis Grinsall (Hartpury).