Bower and Percival selected for Championship XV to face Canada

Warriors duo Ryan Bower and James Percival have been selected to feature for the Championship XV side which takes on Canada at Sixways on Sunday 2 November.

Loosehead prop Bower has been an ever-present for Warriors this season, notching his first try in the win at Doncaster Knights while the experienced Percival, in his second spell at Sixways, has made 75 appearances for the club as a second-row.

Coaches Martin Haag and Kevin Maggs have revealed their team ahead of the fixture, which includes players from all Championship clubs.

The Championship XV concept will be reignited following its 2012 success against the Maori All Blacks. The best English-qualified XV from across the league face Canada at Sixways in a showpiece game highlighting the talent on offer in the second tier, providing a unique international experience for players and spectators alike.
 
Head Coach Martin Haag said: “We wanted to spread the load among all the clubs, so that everybody is represented.

“I'm delighted with what we've ended up with and very excited about the players we’ll have – it will be a great opportunity for them to test themselves against a national team.”

“There's a lot of size to the forward pack and quite a lot of experience as well which is great.

“It's a big mobile pack, so it should fit in to the way we want to play, which is getting the ball from the set piece and bringing our big runners into the game.”

Assistant Coach Kevin Maggs added: “One of the things from the backs perspective is the age – we've picked a pretty young back-line.

“For us it's about creating the space and giving these guys the opportunities to run. What excites me is that there is a lot of speed and talent in the backline and that's always hard to defend against.

“The guys can also be quite physical which they will need to be to get over the gain-line, so we're really excited with who we’ve chosen.”

Championship XV squad

Forwards
Charlie Clare (Bedford Blues)
Darren Barry (Cornish Pirates)
James Percival (Worcester Warriors)
Lee Imiolek (Yorkshire Carnegie)
Marco Mama (Bristol Rugby)
Mark Bright (London Scottish)
Michael Holford (Nottingham Rugby)
Nick Fenton-Wells (Bedford Blues)
Ryan Bower (Worcester Warriors)
Ryan Burrows (Yorkshire Carnegie)
Tom Cruse (Rotherham Titans)
 
Additional tight-head prop and second-row to be confirmed.
 
Backs
Dan Mugford (Nottingham Rugby)
Dougie Flockhart (Doncaster Knights)
Greg King (Moseley)
Jack Tovey (Bristol Rugby)
Lawrence Rayner (Plymouth Albion)
Michael Keating (Rotherham Titans)
Miles Mantella (London Scottish)
Ryan Glynn (Jersey RFC)
Tom Kessell (Cornish Pirates)
Will Owen (Moseley)
 
Note: Due to injuries, a number of Championship players are unavailable for selection.

Tickets are available here or by calling the Box Office on 01905 459309.

 


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