Three Warriors Under 18 youngsters have been named in the England Under 18 team to play France in their opening game of the season this Sunday 5 March at Aylesbury Rugby Football Club (kick-off 2pm).
Worcester Sixth Form College’s Ted Hill, who made his England Under 20 debut in the back row last week, is named in the second row alongside fellow Warriors Under 18 star James Scott (Malvern College) – both of whom scored in Warriors’ Finals Day win over Saracens at Sixways.
Warwick School’s Nick Rigby is named among the front row replacements.
The match, which takes place on Aylesbury’s new floodlit Artificial Grass Pitch (AGP), will be streamed live on EnglandRugby.com and on Facebook Live via the official England Rugby page (https://www.facebook.com/OfficialEnglandRugby).
With three fixtures over the coming month, ahead of the International Series, a wider 38-man England squad has also been named offering opportunities for a number of players to compete at this level and build on the four training camps that have taken place.
With age-grade coaches John Fletcher, Peter Walton and Russell Earnshaw providing an expressive environment and creative platform for the players to show off their skills, the Under 18 programme aims to develop the players on and off the field in five main areas, known as C.A.R.D.S (Creativity, Awareness, Resilience, Decision-Making and Self-Organisation).
England Under 18 Head Coach John Fletcher said: “Our job is to support the players to reach their potential and this match is an exciting opportunity for them. The French team are unpredictable and physical so players will have to adapt throughout the game to compete.
“We have picked an exciting wider squad who will show good attacking intent and I’m looking forward to seeing how they perform over the next six fixtures. Across these matches we will select different combinations of players allowing everyone in the squad a good opportunity to play.”
Follow this link to view the wider England Under 18 squad: http://www.englandrugby.com/england/england-18s/squads/
England Under 18s
15. Elliot Obatoyinbo (Saracens – Harrow School)
14. Tom Seabrook (Gloucester Rugby – Dean Close)
13. Oli Morris (Saracens – New Hall)
12. Fraser Strachan (Northampton Saints – Bedford School)
11. Cadan Murley (Harlequins – Bishop Wordsworth’s Grammar School)
10. Marcus Smith (Harlequins – Brighton College)
9. Will Porter (Wasps – Merchant Taylors School)
1. Tom Rowland (Bristol Rugby – Bristol Grammar School)
2. Will Capon (Bristol Rugby – Bristol Grammar School)
3. Marcus Street (Exeter Chiefs – Exeter College)
4. Ted Hill (Worcester Warriors – Worcester College)
5. James Scott (Worcester Warriors – Malvern College)
6. Tom Willis (Wasps – The Henley College)
7. Sean Reffell (Saracens – Harrow School)
8. Sam Moore (Sale Sharks – Sedbergh School)
Replacements
16. Nick Rigby (Worcester Warriors – Warwick School)
17. Nic Dolly (Sale Sharks)
18. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers – Wyggeston & QEI College)
19. Josh Basham (London Irish – Wellington College)
20. Charlie Wright (Exeter Chiefs – Exeter College)
21. Ollie Fox (Yorkshire Carnegie – New College Pontefract)
22. Cameron Redpath (Sale Sharks – Sedbergh School)
23. Iwan Hughes (Bristol Rugby – SGS College)
England Under 18 2016/17 fixtures
England U18 v France U18, Sunday 5 March, Aylesbury RFC (2pm)
England U18 v Scotland U18, Sunday 12 March, Preston Grasshoppers RFC (2pm)
England U18 v Wales U18, Sunday 26 March, Ebbw Vale RFC (3.45pm)
Under 18 International Series
England U18 v Canada U18, Saturday 8 April – venue tbc
England U18 v Ireland U18, Wednesday 12 April – venue tbc
England U18 v Scotland U18, Sunday 16 April – venue tbc