Tuesday 16th May 2006
Issued on behalf of Leicester Tigers
England U-21 and Leicester Tigers Development XV have both named strong teams for the Matt Hampson Challenge, which takes place at Welford Road this Tuesday, kick-off 7pm. The Six Nations Grand Slam winners include a number of players with premiership appearances under their belts, whilst Tigers have picked their usual blend of youth and experience.

"Our aim is to give everyone an opportunity to play against a quality side like England," says Tigers Development coach, Andy Key. "We've taken the view all season that the Guinness A League has been about development, as well as mixing these younger lads with more senior players, and that will definitely be the case tomorrow."

Scott Bemand starts at scrum half for Tigers, having just been selected to travel to Australia with England this summer. Seru Rabeni, Brett Deacon and Will Skinner all make the starting XV, as do England U-21 regulars, Matt Cornwell and Tom Croft.

Matt Smith moves from full back to fly half, after a string of impressive performances so far this season. "This is an opportunity for Matt to be seen by the England coaching staff," says Key. "We've spoken to Jim Mallinder with regards to where he would like to see him play, and it won't just be at 10 all evening. We see Matt as an extremely talented and versatile young player, and we hope on the night he'll show enough to warrant a place in the World Cup squad."

For England, Ben Foden is selected at number nine, fresh from Sale's victory over Wasps in Saturday's Guinness Premiership Semi-final. James Haskell is another starter for Jim Mallinder's side, having also played in that match at Edgeley Park. In the forwards, Leicester supporters will already have seen Tigers old boy Tom Ryder in action for Saracens, while Tuesday provides the first opportunity to watch Tigers' new signing Jordan Crane at Welford Road.

The match also represents the last opportunity for the young England hopefuls to demonstrate their abilities before the squad for June's IRB U-21 World Championships in France is finalised later this week.

"All the players in our line-up are in consideration for a World Cup berth," says England U-21 manager, Pete Drewett. "We'll be making our mind up and selecting who we take to France after the game."

"The game gives us a great opportunity to keep our momentum after our Six Nations success," says England coach and former Tigers hooker, Dorian West. "Firstly it's about Matt, and secondly it's a good opportunity for some of the lads, especially those in the wider squad and those that haven't played much rugby recently, to press for a place next month."

Tickets for the match cost £8 seating, £6 standing and £4 for juniors and are available from the ticket hotline on 08701 28 34 30 or on the gate.

Tigers Development XV:
15 Ollie Dodge
14 Seru Rabeni
13 Matt Cornwell
12 Tom Youngs
11 Alex Dodge
10 Matt Smith
9 Scott Bemand

1 Dan Cole
2 Adam Bray
3 David Young
4 Gregor Gillanders
5 Tom Croft
6 Brett Deacon
7 Will Skinner
8 Ben Pienaar

Replacements:
16 Alex Shaw
17 Alex Wright
18 Chris Fletcher
19 Rob Springall
20 Phjl Boulton
21 Greg Sammons
22 Sam Herrington
23 Chris Mundy
24 Vivea Tuilagi

England U-21 side:
15 Mike Brown (NEC Harlequins)
14 Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby)
13 Matt Riley* (Sale Sharks)
12 Ryan Davis (Bath Rugby)
11 Paul Diggin (Northampton Saints)
10 Sam Robinson* (Worcester Warriors)
9 Ben Foden (Sale Sharks)

1 Alex Rogers (NEC Harlequins)
2 Chris Brooker (Bath Rugby)
3 Mark Lambert (NEC Harlequins)
4 Tom Ryder (Saracens)
5 Richard Blaze (Worcester Warriors)
6 James Haskell (London Wasps)
7 Michael Hills (Sale Sharks)
8 Jordan Crane (Leeds Tykes) (captain)

Replacements:
16 Jamie Leonard* (Worcester Warriors)
17 Nick Runciman (Worcester Warriors)
18 Phil Nilson* (Leeds Tykes)
19 Tom Mercey* (Saracens)
20 Sean Cox (Sale Sharks)
21 Ian Grieve* (Bristol Rugby)
22 Will Matthews* (Gloucester)

* Uncapped at England U-21 level