Where are they now: The 2013 England U20s world champions
England won the first of their three World Rugby U20s Championships last decade in 2013, defeating Wales 23-15 in the final in Vannes.
As we are currently seeing with France, the success of the under-20 side is often the forerunner to promising times for their senior counterparts. France have won the previous two world championships, and their victorious players are filtering into Fabien Galthie’s side now, signalling a resurgence for Les Bleus.
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With that in mind, the victorious 2013 group has a number of household names in Test rugby today, but equally, those that are not. So this is where the 2013 final squad are now:
15 Jack Nowell
The Exeter Chiefs’ Jack Nowell made his debut for England under Stuart Lancaster less than a year after this victory, and has been part of the national set up ever since.
Although primarily a winger these days, the slippery runner is spoken of very highly by current England head coach Eddie Jones, and has gone on to earn 34 caps, and two for the British and Irish Lions in 2017.
14 Anthony Watson
England’s winger Anthony Watson moved to Bath from London Irish immediately after the victory, which was a positive step in his career. Just under 18 months later, he was making his debut against the All Blacks for the senior team.
Another Lion, Watson has earned 46 caps to date, and while he has had extensive periods on the sidelines with injuries, he is a guaranteed starter under Jones when fit, and started in the Rugby World Cup final in 2019.
13 Harry Sloan
The former Harlequins centre Harry Sloan added another world championship to his name a year later in New Zealand, but after stints with both Ealing Trailfinders and London Scottish in the Championship, he made the permanent move to the former in 2018.
12 Sam Hill
Exeter’s robust centre Sam Hill was first called into Jones’ England squad in 2016, but failed to earn a cap. Since then he has perhaps not kicked on in the same way many of his 2013 teammates have, but a move to Sale Sharks at the end of the season may reignite his career and potentially improve his Test credentials.
11 Ben Howard
The former Worcester Warriors fullback Ben Howard went on to play over 60 games for the West Midlands club, as well as representing England Sevens, before a move to National One outfit Old Elthamians in 2018.
10 Henry Slade
Although rarely seen in a No.10 shirt these days, Exeter’s Henry Slade is another player that has gone on to have a lot of success since 2013.
Now largely operating at outside centre, his silky distribution and kicking game have been exploited by Jones with England, and he has created a highly successful midfield partnership with Manu Tuilagi. The centre came off the bench for England in the RWC final loss to South Africa in 2019.
9 Alex Day
The former Northampton Saints scrum half Alex Day made the move from the Premiership to the Championship in 2015 in search of game time, joining the Cornish Pirates. A highly successful four years in the west earned him a move to English and European champions Saracens last summer.
1 Alec Hepburn
The dynamic Exeter loosehead Alec Hepburn has gone on to earn six caps for England, the last of which was in 2018, but is ever present in Rob Baxter’s side and is integral to the Chiefs’ supremacy in the tight. Hepburn will still be on Jones’ radar for more caps in the future.
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
Yet another member of the Exeter contingent in the 2013 team that has gone on to have success on the Test stage. Luke Cowan-Dickie made his debut in a 2015 RWC warm-up match, but failed to make Lancaster’s squad.
Following the retirement of Dylan Hartley, the 24-cap hooker is now England’s second-choice behind Jamie George, also playing in the RWC final, but is in the form of his life currently and a nominee for European player of the year.
The former Newcastle Falcons tighthead Scott Wilson made 80 appearances for the club he joined at the age of 15 before he was forced to retire at the age of 24 in 2018 due to a neck injury. The injury came in the Premiership semi-final loss to Exeter, and his career ended a few months later on medical advice.
Second row Tom Price moved to Sandy Park last summer, joining Exeter on a two-year deal after four years in Wales with the Scarlets. Although his first season in Devon has been hampered by injury, this could be a promising spell.
5 Dom Barrow
After moving to Leicester Tigers from Newcastle in 2015, Dom Barrow soon became a regular in the engine room at Welford Road, and was in contention to play for England in 2017.
After stints with La Rochelle and Northampton, Barrow retired from rugby last month and is now managing director of green technology company Pure-EV.
6 Ross Moriarty
Now an accomplished international and 2017 Lion, Ross Moriary crossed the Severn and now represents Wales. The son of former Wales international Paul Moriarty, Ross made his debut in 2015 under Warren Gatland, and is now a mainstay in the Welsh squad, covering both blindside flanker and No.8.
7 Matt Hankin
Another player that has unfortunately been forced to retire, the former Saracens loose forward Matt Hankin suffered from a string of concussions and hung up his boots in 2018 at the age of 25. Despite being a rising star at Saracens, he was ultimately never able to overcome his long battle with head injuries.
8 Jack Clifford
The England captain in 2013, Jack Clifford was one of the main players tipped to go on to great things. He was first capped in Jones’ new look 2016 team, and has since earned 10 caps, two of which at No.8; the most recent being in February 2017.
Unfortunately for the swift Harlequins back row, he has been blighted by injuries in recent seasons, but is one player that Jones will still have a keen eye on.
Bench:
16 Scott Spurling
17 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi
18 Tom Smallbone
19 Harry Wells
20 Dave Sisi
21 Callum Braley
22 Ollie Devoto
23 Henry Purdy
The bench contained a number of players who are recognisable names in Premiership rugby or in the international arena. Both Dave Sisi and Callum Braley have gone on to represent Italy, with the former playing for Zebre in the Pro14, and the latter set to join Benetton next season from Gloucester.
Ollie Devoto has since earned two caps for England, his first in 2016 and the second this year in the Six Nations against France following his consistent good form with Exeter this season.
Comments on RugbyPass
excellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to comments