England Under-18s have named their squad for this year’s Under-18s Six Nations Festival which includes a match against Ireland at Sixways on April 17 (kick-off 1.40pm).
Included in the squad are George Martin, who played in last year’s tournament in Wales, plus
Jack Bates, Harvey Beaton, Jack Clement, Phil Cokanasiga, Tom Curtis, Martin, Nahum Merigan, Raffi Qurike, Sam Riley, and Tom Roebuck who all toured South Africa last August.
Curtis, Clement and Quirke all played for England U19s last weekend, while Ollie Stonham is uncapped at age-grade level so is in line for his England U18 debut.
England will face Wales at Hartpury College on April 13 ahead of their Sixways clash with Ireland. They will then play France at Kingsholm in Gloucester on April 21.
There will be three matches at each venue on each day with France taking on Italy in the opener at Sixways (kick-off 11,10am) and Wales taking on Scotland at 4.10pm.
Admission to all matches in the Under-18s Six Nations Festival is free.
England Head Coach Jim Mallinder said: “Selecting this group has been a gradual process, we took a portion of this squad to South Africa in August and along with players who have impressed us over the course of the season through performances at school and their academies we have a picked a strong 26 for the festival.
“This will be a unique experience for these players where they will play three international fixtures over the course of two weeks while staying in camp together. We’ve had a one-off fixture against Scotland with the majority of this group but this will be different as we have the players for longer so we want to build as a team and them to develop as players.
“This will be a different environment, the players will be living alongside their opponents, playing against them while also experiencing a number of off-field activities with their peers which will be fascinating for both players and coaches.”
England U18 Six Nations Festival squad
Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby and Beechen Cliff School)
Jack Bates (Bristol Bears and SGS College)
Fin Baxter (Harlequins and Wellington College)
Harvey Beaton (Saracens and Sutton Valence)
Archie Benson (Gloucester Rugby and Dean Close School)
Joe Browning (Leicester Tigers and Denstone College)
Joe Carpenter (Yorkshire Carnegie and Woodhouse Grove)
Jack Clement (Gloucester Rugby and Cheltenham College)
Phil Cokanasiga (London Irish and St Pauls College)
Tom Curtis (Sale Sharks and Sedbergh School)
Harry Fry (Gloucester Rugby and Hartpury College)
Josh Gray (Gloucester Rugby and Dean Close School)
Luke Green (London Irish and St Paul’s Catholic College)
Louis Hillman-Cooper (Gloucester Rugby and Cheltenham College)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers and Brooksby Melton College)
Nahum Merigan (Bath Rugby and Beechen Cliff School)
Raphael Quirke (Sale Sharks and St Ambrose College)
Ewan Richards (Bath Rugby and Millfield School)
Sam Riley (Harlequins and St George’s Weybridge)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks and Wirral Grammar)
John Stewart (Bath Rugby and Beechen Cliff School)
Ollie Stonham (Saracens and Felsted School)
Will Trenholm (Harlequins and Cranleigh School)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers and Oakham School)
Jude Williams ( Wasps and Caterham School)
George Worboys (Bath Rugby and Beechen Cliff)