England have named their U18 Men’s squad ahead of fixtures against France and Wales next month.
England take on France on the 18th March at Esher RFC, kicking off at 12.30pm, before heading to take on Wales on Sunday 26th March. A fresh squad will then be selected ahead of the U18 Six Nations Festival in Ireland (4th-16th April), which has a January 1st 2005 birth date cut off.
Head Coach Jon Pendlebury has named a 41-man squad ahead of those games against France and Wales, with 22 forwards selected and 19 backs.
All fourteen academies that participated in the Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League are represented along with 34 different schools and colleges that the players are currently attending.
Perhaps most extraordinary of all amongst those are Trinity, the reigning Schools Cup champions who also won the inaugural NextGenXV Schools Rugby Table in December, they have three players in the squad, all in the backline; scrum half Lucas Friday, fly half Josh Bellamy, and full back Conor Byrne.
They are among seven Harlequins, six in the backline, in the squad – by far the most of any club. Epsom College number 8 Lucas Schmid is the sole Harlequin in the forwards, while the Trinity trio are joined by BHASVIC’s Frank McMillan, RGS Guildford’s Tom Humphreys, and Whitgift’s Sean Kerr in the backline.
The clubs have four players each representing them in the squad, Bath, Newcastle Falcons, and Sale Sharks. Bath’s four includes three in the forward pack, Beechen Cliff’s Billy Sela, Monkton Combe’s Jack Bennett, and Millfield’s George Timmins, who is joined by his schoolmate and skipper Ieuan Davies, the Bath scrum half. Newcastle Falcons have two Sedbergh players among their cohort in the squad, Sedbergh skipper Ben Redshaw in the backs and lock Finn Baker, with front rower Isaac Keller of Gosforth Academy and Jacob Oliver of Barnard Castle also representing Newcastle Falcons.
Sale Sharks meanwhile see their four players split evenly in the forwards and backs, and impressively two of those players are from Stockport Grammar School, a team really punching high. Stockport Grammar have a Sale Shark in the forwards, Frank Chatterton, and one in the backs, Albert Bradshaw, with the other two Sale Sharks being Ladybridge’s Jack Lightbown and Kirkham Grammar School’s Ollie Davies.
Leicester Tigers, London Irish, Midlands West, Northampton Saints, and Yorkshire Academy each have three players in the squad. Tigers see Denstone College pair Harry Clarke and Henry Mountford selected in the forwards alongside Nottingham High School fly half Tom Threlfall.
London Irish’s Harrow superstar Kepu Tuipulotu is selected up front alongside Bishop Wand prop Ralph McEachran, while in the backs Wellington College’s Rory Taylor is also selected, the fly half represented England U18 last year as well. Northampton Saints see Stowe pair Archie McParland and Henry Pollock selected, both have prior England U18 experience, Pollock captained England in South Africa in the summer. Joining those two from Saints is Oakham’s Toby Cousins, who played for England U20 earlier this month against Scotland.
Midlands West’s three players are RGS Worcester hooker and captain Loic Keasey, Ellesmere College number 8 Will Owen, and Solihull flyer Jack Kinder. Yorkshire Academy meanwhile see their skipper Tom Burrow, of Heckmondwicke Grammar, prop Tye Raymont, of Bishop Burton College, and playmaker Toby Baker of St Peter’s York selected.
Midlands Central and Saracens are the only other academies with multiple representatives, Midlands Central see Berkhamsted’s Reueben Logan selected, the flanker is the son of former Scotland wing Kenny Logan, while in the backs their skipper Charlie Myall of City of Oxford College is also selected. Saracens have two players with famous surnames in the squad, lock Junior Kpoku of Finborough and versatile back Jack Bracken of St Albans.
The three remaining academies, Bristol Bears, Exeter Chiefs, and Gloucester, have one player each in the squad. Bristol see Clifton College loosehead Louie Trevett selected once again, while Exeter Chiefs’ representative is Truro College’s Oscar Beckerleg, Gloucester see the experienced full back Ioan Jones of Dean Close once again make the squad.
Commenting on the squad, Jon Pendlebury said: “Congratulations to all players selected in our first squad of 2023, this is a fantastic and exciting opportunity for every single one of them.”
“Being selected for England at any level is a proud moment, and one these young men and their families have been building towards throughout their careers, with the help of the hard work from their schools, junior and community rugby clubs, and academies.
“We have five fixtures to prepare for and each one is a chance for the players to put their hand up to represent England. Seventeen of them have worn the rose before, so there are many others who have worked hard to be selected in the pathways programme for the first time.”
England U18 Squad:
Forwards
Finn Baker (Newcastle Falcons & Sedbergh)
Oscar Beckerleg (Exeter Chiefs & Truro College)
Jack Bennett (Bath & Monkton Combe)
Tom Burrow (Yorkshire Academy & Heckmondwicke GS)
Frank Chatterton (Sale Sharks & Stockport Grammar)
Harry Clarke (Leicester Tigers & Denstone College)
Loic Keasey (Midlands West & RGS Worcester)
Isaac Keller (Newcastle Falcons & Gosforth Academy)
Junior Kpoku (Saracens & Finborough)
Jack Lightbown (Sale Sharks & Ladybridge)
Reuben Logan (Midlands Central & Berkhamsted)
Ralph McEachran (London Irish & Bishop Wand)
Henry Mountford (Leicester Tigers & Denstone College)
Jacob Oliver (Newcastle Falcons & Barnard Castle)
Will Owen (Midlands West & Ellesmere College)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints & Stowe)
Tye Raymont (Yorkshire Academy & Bishop Burton College)
Lucas Schmid (Harlequins & Epsom College)
Billy Sela (Bath & Beechen Cliff)
George Timmins (Bath & Millfield)
Louie Trevett (Bristol Bears & Clifton College)
Kepu Tuipulotu (London Irish & Harrow)
Backs
Toby Baker (Yorkshire Academy & St Peter’s, York)
Josh Bellamy (Harlequins & Trinity)
Jack Bracken (Saracens & St Albans)
Albert Bradshaw (Sale Sharks & Stockport Grammar)
Conor Byrne (Harlequins & Trinity)
Toby Cousins (Northampton Saints & Oakham)
Ieuan Davies (Bath & Millfield)
Ollie Davies (Sale Sharks & Kirkham Grammar)
Lucas Friday (Harlequins & Trinity)
Tom Humphreys (Harlequins & RGS Guildford)
Ioan Jones (Gloucester & Dean Close)
Sean Kerr (Harlequins & Whitgift)
Jack Kinder (Midlands West & Solihull)
Frank McMillan (Harlequins & BHASVIC)
Archie McParland (Northampton Saints & Stowe)
Charlie Myall (Midlands Central & City of Oxford College)
Ben Redshaw (Newcastle Falcons & Sedbergh)
Rory Taylor (London Irish & Wellington College)
Tom Threlfall (Leicester Tigers & Nottingham High)
