Five Warriors in England Under 20 squad

Warriors Academy quintet Jack Singleton, Huw Taylor, Jamie Shillcock, Andrew Kitchener and Sam Ripper-Smith have all been named in the England Under 20 Elite Player squad.

The youngsters are part of a 32-man squad, in which Warriors has the biggest representation of any Aviva Premiership club. 

Warriors have placed a huge emphasis on the importance of youth development since Director of Rugby Dean Ryan came to the helm in 2013, with no fewer than six Junior Academy Centres being set up across the West Midlands. 

And Ryan insists the investment in developing youth is already paying dividends. 

He said: “Having five players in the England Under 20 set-up is a fantastic achievement for the Club. 

“The work and resources we have put into our Academy set-up is already showing results and hopefully there will be many more to go on and achieve international honours as well as playing for Warriors.

“These boys have shown tremendous professionalism and their selection shows the progress they have made during their short time at the Club so I’m delighted they’ve been recognised.

“It would be fantastic now if they could go on to represent their country in next year’s RBS Under 20 Six Nations and World Rugby Under 20 Championship.”

The five youngsters all represented Worcester Cavaliers last season with both Taylor and Shillcock also earning their first Warriors caps.

Versatile forward Taylor joined the Warriors Academy in 2014 and made six appearances in his first campaign, while helping Warriors to British & Irish Cup glory and also playing a significant role in Cavaliers' run to the Aviva A League final.

Shillcock, who can play at either scrum-half or fly-half, made the headlines as a 17-year-old when he featured for the first-team in the all-important Championship play-off semi-final second leg against London Scottish earlier this year.

Kitchener, brother of former Warrior Graham, joined the Academy in 2014 and is currently combining his rugby at Sixways with studying at Birmingham University.

Hooker Singleton and flanker Ripper-Smith also joined the Warriors Academy in 2014 and spent last summer gaining experience playing in New Zealand for Saracens RFC, where Singleton went on to play representative rugby for North Canterbury and won the Under 19 Player of the Year award. 

England Under 20 Elite Player Squad:
Sam Aspland-Robinson (Harlequins)
Joshua Bainbridge (Yorkshire Carnegie)
Lewis Boyce (Yorkshire Carnegie)
Theo Brophy Clews (London Irish)
Callum Chick (Newcastle Falcons)
Andrew Kitchener (Warriors)
Max Mallins (Saracens)
Harry Mallinder (Northampton Saints)
Joseph Marchant (Harlequins)
Jack Maunder (Exeter Chiefs)
Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Joe Mullis (Gloucester Rugby)
George Nott (Sale Sharks)
Paolo Odogwu (Leicester Tigers)
George Perkins (Saracens)
Jake Pope (Sale Sharks)
Taylor Prell (Yorkshire Carnegie)
Mathew Protheroe (Gloucester Rugby)
Sam Ripper-Smith (Warriors)
Will Safe (Gloucester Rugby)
Jamie Shillcock (Warriors)
Jack Singleton (Warriors) 
Stanley South (Harlequins)
William Stuart (Wasps)
Huw Taylor (Warriors)
Oliver Thorley (Gloucester Rugby)
Billy Waker (Saracens)
Jack Walker (Yorkshire Carnegie)
Tom West (Wasps)
Archie White (Harlequins)
John Williams (London Irish)


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