England U18s have named their team to face Australia Schools, while Scotland have named their combined squad for their fixture.
England U18s/19s play the young Wallabies on the 4th December at Harrow Schools, while Scotland U19s face the touring side on the 8th December at Myreside.
England will be led by last year’s successful captain, James Chisholm, and the game will be streamed live on www.rfu.com and on the RFU’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/officialrfutv).
Four of Fifteen Rugby’s School Team of the Season are included in the squad, Chisholm, Charlie Ewels, Andrew Boyce, and Rory Jennings, while a number of other exciting school prospects such as Max Clark and Kieran Treadwell are also included.
In the likes of Chisholm and Nick Tompkins, among others, there is plenty of professional 1st XV experience in the side, giving them great confidence ahead of the game.
Head Coach John Fletcher said ahead of the game:
“This is a great opportunity for our guys to go out and put in a performance against Australia. They only tour once every four years and we’re looking forward to taking them on.â€
“They will play an expansive game, which suits us – we like to play with the ball in hand too, so it promises to be an exciting game. It’s great to have the game streamed live on RFU.com and it will hopefully allow people to watch us play who wouldn’t normally get the chance.â€
Once that game is done attention will turn to Myreside, where Scotland U19s will play Australia on the 8th December.
Their squad is a combination of players from the Scotland U18 and u20s sides, and the side will be coached by the Scotland U18 coaching team, who are familiar with all the players.
Scotland’s Head of Performance Development, Stephen Gemmell, said:
“This is the first time we’ve played an Australian Schools side in 11 years and it’s very much a standalone, one-off fixture. Their age banding is different from ours, so it means our side will be a mix of age grades, the majority being in this year’s under-18 and under-20 extended squads.â€
“It’s unusual for an Australian Schools side to tour but a good fit for us to have this game as part of the Under-18 into Under-20 programme. It’s also a good chance for us to look at selection for Scotland under-20 going into the 6 Nations.â€
Scotland under-18 head coach Eddie Pollock, coach of the combined squad, said:
“Everyone is really looking forward to this fixture as it’s the first opportunity for these players at this level to play a southern hemisphere side.”
Interest South of the border will be piqued by the inclusion of Millfield’s Adam Hastings, Hartpury College’s Ben Vellacott, and MPW’s Rory Hutchinson in the back division.
Australia Schools have already played two matches on tour, losing to Wales U18 and Wales U18 A, and beating Ospreys U18s 31-7.
Following the fixtures against England and Scotland they will then move on to Ireland, where the will play Leinster Schools, Ireland U18/19, and Munster Schools.
Australia School Tour Results & Fixtures:
Wales U18 A 18-15 Australia Schools – 22nd November
Wales U18 26-12 Australia Schools – 28th November
Ospreys U18 7-31 Australia Schools – 1st December
England U18 v Australia Schools – 1pm Harrow School, 4th December
Scotland U19 v Australia Schools – 4pm Myreside, 8th December
Leinster Schools v Australia Schools – 11th December
Ireland U18 v Australia Schools – 14th December
Munster Schools v Australia Schools – 17th December
England Under 18s XV:
15 Aaron Morris (Bedford Blues)
14 Tom Fowlie (London Irish)
13 Nick Tompkins (Saracens)
12 Max Clark (Bath Rugby)
11 Howard Packman (Northampton Saints)
10 Tom Morton (Sale Sharks)
9 Stuart Townsend (Exeter Chiefs); 1 Lewis Boyce (Leeds Carnegie)
2 Jack Walker (Leeds Carnegie)
3 Paul Hill (Leeds Carnegie)
4 Kieran Treadwell (Harlequins)
5 Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
6 Joe Batley (Gloucester Rugby)
7 Will Owen (Leicester Tigers)
8 James Chisholm (Harlequins, Captain).
Replacements: 16 Ollie Adams (London Irish)
17 Luke Chapman (Exeter Chiefs)
18 Ciaran Parker (Sale Sharks)
19 Will Witty (Newcastle Falcons)
20 Andrew Boyce (Worcester Warriors)
21 Rory Jennings (Bath Rugby)
22 Theo Brophy-Clews (London Irish)
23 Josh Skelcey (Northampton Saints).
Scotland U19s Squad:
Forwards: Cameron Fenton (Strathallan School/Howe of Fife)
Gary Robertson (Gala Academy/Gala Wanderers)
Angus Wallace (Boroughmuir)
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Hawks)
Ross Graham (Hawick)
Jake Kerr (George Watson’s College)
Scott Cummings (Kelvinside Academy/Glasgow Hawks)
Neil Irvine-Hess (Watsonians/Edinburgh Rugby)
Lewis Carmichael (Edinburgh Academicals)
Jamie Ritchie (Strathallan School/Howe of Fife)
Scott Burnside (Heriots FP) Ally Miller (George Watson’s College) Magnus Bradbury (Boroughmuir/Edinburgh Rugby).
Backs: Hugh Fraser (Merchiston Castle School)
Ben Vellacott (Hartpury College/Worcester Warriors)
Adam Hastings (Millfield School)
George Horne (Currie)
Richard Taylor (Loretto School/Melrose)
Rory Hutchinson (MPW Cambridge/Shelford)
Ben Robbins (George Watson’s College)
Angus Rennie (Aberdeen Grammar)
Ruari Howarth (Gala Academy/Gala Wanderers)
Gavin Lowe (Glasgow Hawks/Glasgow Warriors).