March 11, 2008

England Under 16 will set off for France in a week’s time in confident mood for the second annual Four Nations Tournament.

A practice match last Sunday (March 9) in which Bath Academy Under 17 were beaten 54-7 was the conclusion of the squad’s final training camp at Cokethorpe School in Oxfordshire.

The 26 players will meet up on Monday (March 17) for a day’s training at Cokethorpe before flying out from Heathrow on Tuesday to their tournament base in Lyon.

They then face a demanding schedule of international matches against Wales U16 in Bourgoin (March 20), Italy U17 in Vienne (March 23) and the hosts France U17 in Lyon (March 26).

Owen Farrell, son of the Saracens and England centre Andy, captained the team against Bath Academy U17 and is a strong tip to lead the side in France.

There were eight tries scored in the non-cap fixture against Bath Academy U17 played over two periods of 25 minutes and one of 20, in which all 26 players were used with the exception of wing Sam Edgerley who was given a rest after playing for his school the day before.

Farrell played at inside centre and his burgeoning combination with fly half George Ford – who was watched by his father, Mike, the England defence coach – was a feature of what was hailed by Gareth Rees, the England 16 Group lead coach, as “an outstanding performance”.

Every player had at least 25 minutes’ action, with second row James Tyas the only one to play the full 70 minutes.

This approach in part reflects the rules of the Four Nations Tournament – which England won at home in the Midlands last year – which state that every squad member must start at least one match, and play at least a half.

This has particular relevance to the specialist positions, where a player who might normally be an understudy will be required to slot in seamlessly with the team’s patterns and game plan.

Rees, who has been England U16 lead coach for four years, and was assistant coach for five years before that, commented: “This is probably the smallest side I have worked with but if we win enough primary ball we can open up any opposition.

“I was very encouraged by the high levels of precision and decision-making in our attack, and we did what we wanted with the line speed in defence.

“At this age group we are mindful that development of players is important, and the rules of the tournament partly dictate the team we will select for each match beginning with our old rivals Wales.

“But we are not going to take part in a prestigious tournament like this in France with anything in mind other than winning it.”

Centre James Whybrow scored three tries against Bath Academy U17, with one each to flanker James Bache, Ford, full back/wing Alex Lewington, Farrell and scrum half Ryan Glynn.

Ford kicked four conversions and fly half Tom Heathcote three.

“It was lovely to see young English players play with a bit of vision and their heads up,” said George Squires, England U16 team manager.

“Every time the game broke down and the team went wide they looked very good and they played some incredibly exciting rugby.”

England U16 have a unique record in English representative rugby of being undefeated since the Rugby World Cup winning year of 2003.

England Under 16 squad for Four Nations Tournament, Lyon, France, March 20-26, 2008:

Backs:

Joe Cobden (centre, King Edward VI Lichfield & Staffordshire)

Andrew Davies (scrum half, Lymm High School & Cheshire)

Sam Edgerley (wing, Wellington College & Surrey)

Jamie Elliott (fly half, Bedford School & East Midlands)

Owen Farrell (inside centre, St George’s School & Hertfordshire)

George Ford (fly half, Rishworth School & Yorkshire)

Ryan Glynn (scrum half, Sedbergh School & Lancashire)

Tom Heathcote (fly half, Bishop Wordsworth’s School & Dorset and Wiltshire)

Alex Lewington (full back/wing, Nottingham High School & Notts, Lincs and Derbyshire)

Sam Stanley (fly half, William Edwards School & Essex)

Sam Stuart (centre, Sedbergh School & Yorkshire)

James Whybrow (centre, King Edward VI Five Ways School & North Midlands)

Forwards:

Harry Allen (hooker, Hurstmere School & Kent)

Joe Atkinson (flanker, Churcher’s College & Hampshire)

James Bache (flanker, St Peter’s High School & Essex)

George Bee (hooker, Bishop of Hereford Bluecoat School & North Midlands)

Michael Haywood (hooker, Tendring Tech College & Eastern Counties)

Malcolm Hearn (prop, Helston Community College & Cornwall)

Sam Jones (No.8, Aylesbury Grammar School & Buckinghamshire)

Matthew Kvesic (No.8, Blundell’s School & Devon)

Kit McCartney (loosehead prop, Wanstead School & Essex)

Henry Thomas (tighthead prop, Millfield School & Somerset)

Sam Twomey (lock, St Wilfrid’s RC School & Sussex)

James Tyas (second row, Brighton College & Sussex)

Ben Vernon (No.8, Hutton Grammar School & Lancashire)

Christopher Walker (openside flanker, Settle College & Yorkshire)

Four Nations Tournament 2008 fixtures:

Thursday March 20:

England U16 v Wales U16 (Stade Pierre Rajon, Bourgoin, 5pm)

France U17 v Italy U17 (Stade Pierre Rajon, Bourgoin, 6.30pm)

Sunday March 23:

England U16 v Italy U17 (Stade Jean Etcheberry, Vienne, 3pm)

France U17 v Wales U16 (Stade Jean Etcheberry, Vienne, 4.30pm)

Wednesday March 26:

Wales U16 v Italy U17 (Stade Vuillermet, Lyon, 5pm)

France U17 v England U16 (Stade Vuillermet, Lyon, 6.30pm)

England Under 16 results 2004-2007:

Drew 19-19 v Wales U16 (Leicester 2004)

Won 15-7 v Wales U16 (Hull Ionians 2005)

Won 23-6 v Wales U16 (Dunvant 2005)

Won 24-22 v Wales U16 (Llandovery 2006)

Won 32-10 v Wales U16 (Four Nations Tournament, Dudley Kingswinford 2007)

Won 22-21 v France U17 (Castres 2006)

Won 13-10 v France U17 (Four Nations Tournament, Stourbridge 2007)

Won 52-0 v Italy U17 A (La Spezia 2004)

Won 19-7 v Italy U17 (La Spezia 2004)

Won 47-5 v Italy U17 (St Albans 2005)

Won 36-15 v Italy U17 (Trento 2006)

Won 23-5 v Italy U17 (Four Nations Tournament, Castlecroft 2007)

Ends