- Rob Hunter makes two changes to his Under 20 Elite Player Squad
- Premiership stars Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi named in squad
England U20 head coach Rob Hunter today announced his revised Under 20 Elite Player Squad for this season's major tournaments.
Hunter, assisted by Diccon Edwards, has made two changes to the 32-man group taking part in the U20 6 Nations, kicking off in February against Wales in Llanelli, and in this summer's IRB Junior World Championship in Italy.
London Irish centre Guy Armitage, brother of England players Delon and Steffon, and Northampton Saints hooker Mike Haywood, both 19, are the newest additions to the squad, in place of Marcus Watson (London Irish) and Billy Vunipola (London Wasps).
Hunter feels that both players have ability to make the step-up to international rugby, and said: “I’ve been impressed with both Guy and Mike, they came out to Portugal with us on our training camp and looked sharp.
“They were close to being named in the initial squad but there’s a lot of competition at this age grade and a lot of players getting first team rugby at their respective clubs, so it’s tough to narrow that down to a squad of 32. We’ve also got a few players coming back from injury and that will strengthen us hugely.
We'll take each 6 Nations game one at a time – Hunter
“Elliot Daly is doing very well with Wasps while Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi are seeing a lot of action with their clubs and the likes of Will Collier, Rob Buchanan and Ben Ransom have been on the bench for Premiership matches – that kind of experience is vital in their development.
“It’s important to take each 6 Nations game one at a time, we start off by playing Wales in Wales and that will be tough but we’ve got a good squad and I’m confident we can go there and give them a good game.”
RFU Head of Elite Player Development Stuart Lancaster added: “We think that this squad is a strong one and the amount of competition for places in each position reflects well on the work the regional academies are doing.
"A lot of the players in this squad have come through our age group international programme and that goes to show how well the development pathway is working with players progressing through from the 18s into the Under 20s and then hopefully pushing for places in the Senior and Saxons EPS Squads."
The Under 20 squad has a week's training camp at Surrey Sports Park on January 17 before reassembling on February 1 for the build-up to their opening game of the 6 Nations against Wales.
England U20 Elite Player Squad
| Forwards |
|---|
| Player | Club |
|---|
| Ryan Bower |
Leicester Tigers |
| Koree Britton |
Gloucester Rugby |
| Rob Buchanan |
Harlequins |
| Will Collier |
Harlequins |
| Matt Everard |
Leicester Tigers |
| Alex Gray |
Newcastle Falcons |
| Jonny Harris |
Leicester Tigers |
| Sam Jones |
London Wasps |
| Matt Kvesic |
Worcester Warriors |
| Addison Lockley |
Exeter Chiefs |
| Kieran Low |
London Irish |
| Charlie Matthews |
Harlequins |
| Ollie Stedman |
Leeds Carnegie |
| Henry Thomas |
Sale Sharks |
| Sam Twomey |
Harlequins |
| Mike Haywood |
Northampton Saints |
| Mako Vunipola |
Bristol Rugby |
| Backs |
|---|
| Player | Club |
|---|
| Chris Cook |
Bath Rugby |
| Elliot Daly |
London Wasps |
| Owen Farrell |
Saracens |
| George Ford |
Leicester Tigers |
| Jonathan Joseph |
London Irish |
| Ryan Mills |
Gloucester Rugby |
| Ben Ransom |
Saracens |
| Dan Robson |
Gloucester Rugby |
| Jake Sharp |
Saracens |
| Andy Short |
Worcester Warriors |
| Manu Tuilagi |
Leicester Tigers |
| Christian Wade |
London Wasps |
| Jack Wallace |
London Wasps |
| Guy Armitage |
London Irish |
| Marland Yarde |
London Irish |
