England are currently hosting an U18 Development Camp at Bisham Abbey and NextGenXV can exclusively reveal the group of players that are attending the camp.
Head Coach Jonathan Pendlebury has named a 43-man Development Squad for the camp, which began on Thursday and will run through to Sunday.
Thirteen of the fourteen Academies that have been competing in the Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League are represented, Yorkshire Academy are the unfortunate side to miss out on representation. There are also a staggering 33 schools represented in the squad, with only one school, Gosforth Academy, having more than two players in the squad.
Despite some clubs and schools rightly recognising the achievements of their players in being selected for the Development Camp, ahead of the U18 International Season, the squad has been shrouded in secrecy – as has been the case with much of the England U18 activity since the onset of Covid.
However we can exclusively reveal the squad today, which sees an exciting mix of players from around the country, and in particular from Newcastle Falcons and Harlequins, who each have seven players in the squad.
In total there are 21 backs and 22 forwards. Up front there are four hookers, Harlequins & Worthing College’s Jack Doorey-Palmer, James Isaacs of Berkhamsted and Saracens, Felsted’s Northampton Saints hooker Craig Wright, and Charlie Smith of Newcastle Falcons and Dame Allan’s.
The propping options are Harlequins’ Caleb Ashworth and Ethan Clarke of Gordon’s and Worthing College respectively, as well as Jack Ellam of Sale Sharks and Sedbergh, Bristol Bears’ Jimmy Halliwell from Colston’s, Newcastle Falcons’ and Gosforth Academy star Mikey Rewcastle, and Northampton Saints’ Nick Tarr from Mark Rutherford School.
There are six locks and six back row, though many can interchange between the two. Among the locks are Exeter College’s Exeter Chiefs skipper Joe Bailey, Leicester Tigers and Leicester Grammar’s Finn Carnduff, Newcastle Falcons skipper Luke Coulston, another of the 5 strong Gosforth Academy contingent, Harvey Cuckson from Worcester Warriors and Ellesmere College, Colston’s Paddy Pearce of Bristol Bears, and Brighton College’s Harry Browne, who has appeared at both six and in the second row for Harlequins.
Joining Brown is fellow Brighton College and Harlequins star Jonny Smith, the back rower who was named player of the tournament at the St Joseph’s Festival in October. Also among the back row options is Smith’s fellow Quins back row Zach Carr of Dulwich College, as well as Sherborne and Bath skipper Arthur Green, Worcester Warriors and Monmouth captain Theo Mayell, Sutton Valence and Saracens’ Nathan Michelow, and Sale Sharks & AKS Lytham’s Tristan Woodman.
In the back there are three scrum half options, Newcastle Falcons and Gosforth Academy’s Ben Douglas, London Irish skipper Ollie Allan from Bishop Wand, and St Albans’ Charlie Bracken, who, like his World Cup winning father Kyran, is at Saracens.
At fly half the options look outstanding, Morgan Meredith has been directing proceedings for Leicester Tigers and Brooksby Melton College, so too Charlie Wardle for Sale Sharks and Altrincham Grammar. Clifton College and Bristol Bears’ Sam Worsley is outstanding, and who can forget his head to head with Millfield’s Sam Harris earlier this year? Harris can also play in the centres, where he has spent most of his time for Bath in this campaign.
In the centres there are multiple options, Newcastle Falcons’ Jeremy Civil, another of that Gosforth Academy cohort, Northampton Saints’ Toby Cousins from Oakham, London Irish and Hampton star Connor Cross, and Cheltenham College’s Will Gilderson, who has been excellent for Gloucester. Similarly Harlequins’ Ludo Kolade, the King’s Canterbury man has been fantastic, and Leicester Tigers’ captain Joseph Woodward of Brooksby Melton College and his Tigers centre partner George Loose of Langley, plus Sale Sharks and Manchester Grammar’s Ben Motamed and Monmouth’s Joe Jenkins, who has sadly missed much of Bristol Bears’ campaign.
The options in the back three are electric, and it is no surprise to see two Newcastle Falcons included, Gosforth Academy’s Nathan Greenwood and Sedbergh’s Ben Redshaw, whom readers may remember for his try against Wellington College in November. Also in the back three mix are Wasps Will Glister from City of Oxford College, Saracens and Simon Langton Grammar full back Harry Legg, who can also step in at 10, and Worcester Warriors’ Alex Wills, who is, unusually, the only Hartpury College player in the squad.
It is an incredibly exciting squad, packed full of young, exciting, talented, and hard-working players. Each and every one selected deserves to be celebrated, even being considered for the squad is a huge achievement and for some this may be the pinnacle – they deserve to have that achievement recognised.
For those that missed out, this is far from the end of the road, there is another squads worth of players that could so easily have made this group and doubtless many of them will see their chance come in the coming weeks and months as the U18 International Season progresses.
For now, a huge congratulations to the 43 selected to this Development Camp.
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England U18 February Development Camp Squad (43-man):
Ollie Allan (London Irish & Bishop Wand, scrum half)
Caleb Ashworth (Harlequins & Gordon’s, prop)
Joe Bailey (Exeter Chiefs & Exeter College, lock)
Charlie Bracken (Saracens & St Albans, scrum half)
Harry Browne (Harlequins & Brighton College, lock/back row)
Finn Carnduff (Leicester Tigers & Leicester Grammar, lock)
Zach Carr (Harlequins & Dulwich College, back row)
Jeremy Civil (Newcastle Falcons & Gosforth Academy, centre)
Ethan Clarke (Harlequins & Worthing College, prop)
Luke Coulston (Newcastle Falcons & Gosforth Academy, lock)
Toby Cousins (Northampton Saints & Oakham, centre)
Connor Cross (London Irish & Hampton, centre)
Harvey Cuckson (Worcester Warriors & Ellesmere College, lock)
Jack Doorey-Palmer (Harlequins & Worthing College, hooker)
Ben Douglas (Newcastle Falcons & Gosforth Academy, scrum half)
Jack Ellam (Sale Sharks & Sedbergh, prop)
Will Gilderson (Gloucester & Cheltenham College, centre)
Will Glister (Wasps & City of Oxford College, back three)
Arthur Green (Bath & Sherborne, back row)
Nathan Greenwood (Newcastle Falcons & Gosforth Academy, back three)
Jimmy Halliwell (Bristol Bears & Colston’s, prop)
Sam Harris (Bath & Millfield, fly half/centre)
James Isaacs (Saracens & Berkhamsted, hooker)
Joe Jenkins (Bristol Bears & Monmouth, centre)
Ludo Kolade (Harlequins & King’s Canterbury, centre)
Harry Legg (Saracens & Simon Langton Grammar, back three)
George Loose (Leicester Tigers & Langley, centre)
Theo Mayell (Worcester Warriors & Monmouth, back row)
Morgan Meredith (Leicester Tigers & Brooksby Melton College, fly half)
Nathan Michelow (Saracens & Sutton Valence, back row)
Ben Motamed (Sale Sharks & Manchester Grammar, centre)
Paddy Pearce (Bristol Bears & Colston’s, lock)
Ben Redshaw (Newcastle Falcons & Sedbergh, back three)
Mike Rewcastle (Newcastle Falcons & Gosforth Academy, prop)
Charlie Smith (Newcastle Falcons & Dame Allan’s, hooker)
Jonny Smith (Harlequins & Brighton College, back row)
Nick Tarr (Northampton Saints & Mark Rutherford, prop)
Charlie Wardle (Sale Sharks & Altrincham Grammar, fly half)
Alex Wills (Worcester Warriors & Hartpury College, back three)
Tristan Woodman (Sale Sharks & AKS Lytham, back row)
Joseph Woodward (Leicester Tigers & Brooksby Melton College, centre)
Sam Worsley (Bristol Bears & Clifton College, fly half)
Craig Wright (Northampton Saints & Felsted, hooker)
