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Atkinson, Bailey and Quirke lead the charge as England name U20s Six Nations squad
England U20s boss Alan Dickens has named a 32-man squad for the 2021 Six Nations Championship taking place in Cardiff later this month. Six players have been capped previously at U20 level: Harvey Beaton (Saracens), Jack Clement (Gloucester), Luke Green (London Irish), Sam Riley (Harlequins), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks) and Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers).
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There are eight changes from the EPS squad announced in January with Jack Bates (Bristol), Tarek Haffar (London Irish), Louis Hillman-Cooper (Gloucester), Tom Litchfield (Northampton Saints), Arthur Relton (Exeter), Ollie Stonham (Saracens), Harry Taylor (Gloucester) and Archie Vanes (Leicester) all receiving call ups.
Dickens said: “In a challenging season the lads have been excellent and I have been pleased we managed to get some game time along the way. Obviously, only 32 are fortunate to make the squad – and there have been some players missing out due to injury – but it has certainly been a wider squad effort going all the way back to November last year when we played our first North vs South match at St George’s Park.
“We have had a couple of camps in the last six weeks which helped bring the group together. The preparation has been good and the commitment from the players has been fantastic.
“I’m really excited, but ultimately it’s about the players. We have a few coming back for a second year at U20s, but the rest weren’t fortunate to play at U18s level last year due to Covid. I’m really looking forward to them being able to put on an England shirt and represent their country which is something that a lot of them haven’t done for a long time.”
"You’ll find that guys that come in this quickly sometimes pick up knocks and Charlie is pretty resilient in that way"
– Nine months after getting mown down by the red-carded Owen Farrell, 19-year-old Charlie Atkinson is earning kudos at Wasps https://t.co/8a3EMjXKjo
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 2, 2021
For the first time ever the U20s Six Nations will all be played at a single venue with back-to-back matches. “Staying in one hotel together for 31 days and playing at one venue will be a different experience, but it’s just fantastic that we can get a competition up and running for this generation of players.”
Players and management will assemble at Bisham Abbey on June 13 for a few days of training prior to their arrival in Wales later that week for the Championship which will all take place at Cardiff Arms Park.
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ENGLAND U20S SIX NATIONS SQUAD
Forwards (18)
Harvey Beaton (Saracens)
Phil Brantingham (Newcastle Falcons)
Lucas Brooke (London Irish)
Arthur Clark (Gloucester)
Jack Clement (Gloucester)
Luke Green (London Irish)
Alex Groves (Bristol Bears)
Tarek Haffar (London Irish)
Lewis Holsey (Worcester Warriors)
Ethan Hunt (Gloucester)
Emeka Ilione (Leicester Tigers)
Nahum Merigan (Bath)
Ewan Richards (Bath)
Sam Riley (Harlequins)
Ollie Stonham (Saracens)
Harry Taylor (Gloucester)
Freddie Thomas (Gloucester)
Archie Vanes (Leicester Tigers)
Backs (14)
Charlie Atkinson (Wasps)
Seb Atkinson (Worcester Warriors)
Deago Bailey (Bristol Bears)
Orlando Bailey (Bath)
Jack Bates (Bristol Bears)
Louis Hillman-Cooper (Gloucester)
Dan Lancaster (Leeds Tykes)
Tom Litchfield (Northampton Saints)
Tommy Mathews (Northampton Saints)
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks)
Arthur Relton (Exeter Chiefs)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Fin Smith (Worcester Warriors)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
ENGLAND FIXTURES
Saturday, June 19: vs France, KO 5pm
Friday, June 25: vs Scotland, KO 2pm
Thursday, July 1: vs Ireland, KO 8pm
Wednesday, July 7: vs Wales, KO 8pm
Tuesday, July 13: vs Italy, KO 2pm
London Irish is home to one of the more intriguing 21 uncapped players chosen by England https://t.co/iatasd3VNs
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 10, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments