England have named a 60-player Men’s U18 squad for a four day development camp this weekend at Bisham Abbey’s National Sports Centre.
Head Coach Jonathan Pendlebury and Assistant Coach Will Parkin have included 19 previously capped players and 12 players that will be attending their first pathway camp among the 60 players.
Speaking ahead of the camp, Parkin said: “Our focus for this camp is speed and support, bringing both areas to life on and off the field. We have a large player pool this weekend, with a varied level of experience from players with multiple caps to players coming in for the first time, which is exciting.”
“From an attacking point of view, it’s going to be heavily focused on developing the players’ core skills and ability to be comfortable in unstructured scenarios. We want to put their decision making under pressure and challenge them on how good they can be at getting the ball to space, whilst making sure they continue to develop quality contact skills that underpins our attacking game.”
“We’re bringing these players together to test themselves in a different environment, surrounded by the best players in the country at their age. So, it’s vital they come in and are exposed to an environment that’s more challenging than what they are used too, so they can go back to their clubs, schools and colleges as better players.”
All 11 academies from the Prem Rugby Next Gen League, the 10 Gallagher Prem clubs plus Yorkshire Academy, are represented in the squad. Leicester Tigers and Saracens between them supplying 33% of the squad, with Tigers having 11 in the squad and Saracens 9. Remarkably eight of Saracens’ nine players are in the forward pack. There are 34 forwards selected and 26 backs in total.
Gloucester and Northampton Saints are represented by seven players each, Harlequins by six, and Sale Sharks by five. Meanwhile Exeter Chiefs and Bath have four players each, with Newcastle Red Bulls represented by three players, Bristol Bears and Yorkshire Academy have two players each in the squad.
39 different schools and colleges are represented, and Mill Hill are the most represented. They have four players in the squad, Tiane Elone, AJ Henry, Zak Jones, and Max Worsley, all part of that Saracens cohort of forwards. Bloxham likewise have four, with Gloucester’s Junior Denny and Ben Koolen, and the Northampton Saints pair of Hardy Linnell and Sonny Goode
Five schools have three players in the squad, Brooksby College with Seva Batikora, Kajetan Lewandowski, and James Alcock, all of Leicester Tigers. Denstone College’s, also in the Leicester Tigers catchment area, see Fin Charles, Joe Edmunds, and Lochie Glackin all in the squad. Exeter College have three in the squad too, Jeremy Keys, Charlie Bosanko, and Mawgan Talling, all with Exeter Chiefs. The superb Northampton School for Boys also have three players, Jack Lewis, George Tonga’uhia, and Hugh Shields, all with Northampton Saints, and Sedbergh also have three players in the squad, Saracens’ ben Beadle, and Sale Sharks’ James Moore and Will Bayston.
Six schools have two players each in the squad, Beechen Cliff, Clifton College, Gosfoth Academy, Hartpury College, Millfield, and, a particularly proud moment for this school, St Edward’s, Oxford.
Given the performances of the likes of Noah Caluori and Edoardo Todaro this season, earning England and Italy call ups respectively just four months after completing school, this camp ought to be an even more exciting one than usual for the 60 players selected as they can see just how close the steps to full international honours can be. The gap between school, age-grade international, and senior rugby has never felt closer.
England U18 Men’s October Development Camp Squad (Name, Academy, School, Caps):
Forwards (34)
Seva Batikora (Leicester Tigers, Brooksby College, 2)
Ben Beadle (Saracens, Sedbergh, 0)
Kwame Bekoe (Leicester Tigers, Norwich, 3)
Fin Charles (Leicester Tigers, Denstone College, 0)
Oscar Churchouse (Gloucester, Hartpury College, 0)
Tom Dargan (Saracens, Harrow, 0)
Josh De Waal (Gloucester, St Edwards Oxford, 0)
Leo Dickinson (Harlequins, KCS Wimbledon, 0)
Joe Edmunds (Leicester Tigers, Denstone College, 0)
Tiane Elone (Saracens, Mill Hill, 0)
Hendro Hattingh (Sale Sharks, Scarisbrick Hall, 0)
AJ Henry (Saracens, Mill Hill, 2)
Jordan Ikeh (Sale Sharks, Stockport GS, 3)
Freddie Jones (Saracens, Sutton Valence, 2)
Zak Jones (Saracens, Mill Hill, 0)
Jeremy Keys (Exeter Chiefs, Exeter College, 0)
Ben Koolen (Gloucester, Bloxham, 0)
Henry Laidlow (Harlequins, Trinity, 7)
Kajetan Lewandowski (Leicester Tigers, Brooksby College, 0)
Jack Lewis (Northampton Saints, Northampton SfB, 5)
Alex Mead (Northampton Saints, Perse, 0)
James Moore (Sale Sharks, Sedbergh, 0)
Euan Oakes (Newcastle Red Bulls, Gosforth Academy, 0)
Lawrence Ogbonnaya (Sale Sharks, Kirkham GS, 3)
Charles Rotimi (Saracens, Campion, 0)
Ben Smith (Yorkshire Academy, Wath Academy, 0)
Teddy Smith-Milne (Gloucester, Clifton College, 0)
Marcus Southwell (Leicester Tigers, Oakham, 2)
Mawgan Talling (Exeter Chiefs, Exeter College, 0)
George Tonga’uhia (Northampton Saints, Northampton SfB, 0)
Harry Westlake (Exeter Chiefs, Exeter College, 0)
Ellis Woolrych (Harlequins, St John’s Leatherhead, 0)
Max Worsley (Saracens, Mill Hill, 0)
Alex Yeabsley (Bath, Millfield, 0)
Backs (26)
James Alcock (Leicester Tigers, Brooksby College, 0)
Stanley Amor (Harlequins, Hampton, 0)
Aston Barrington-Hibbert (Bath, Millfield, 0)
Will Bayston (Sale Sharks, Sedbergh, 2)
Rio Bennett (Saracens, Brighton College, 0)
Charlie Bosanko (Exeter Chiefs, Exeter College, 0)
Junior Denny (Gloucester, Bloxham, 5)
Ajay Edwards (Newcastle Red Bulls, Durham, 3)
Lochie Glackin (Leicester Tigers, Denstone College, 0)
Sonny Goode (Northampton Saints, Bloxham, 2)
Max Hooper (Bath, Beechen Cliff, 0)
Hardy Linnell (Northampton Saints, Bloxham, 0)
Samuel Marshall (Harlequins, Whitgift, 0)
Will Moore (Bristol Bears, Clifton College, 0)
Ollie Myall (Leicester Tigers, City of Oxford College, 0)
Hugh Shields (Northampton Saints, Northampton SfB, 5)
Oscar Talbot (Leicester Tigers, Rugby, 6)
Charlie Tamani (Northampton Saints, Finborough, 7)
Jack Taylor (Bristol Bears, Hartpury College, 0)
James Townsend (Leicester Tigers, Warwick, 6)
Declan Treacey (Bath Rugby, Beechen Cliff, 7)
Jack Tyler (Harlequins, Newman College, 0)
Caylen Umaga (Yorkshire Academy, Bishop Burton, 0)
Alfie Warwick (Newcastle Red Bulls, Gosforth Academy, 0)
Kai Wilkinson (Gloucester, St Edwards Oxford, 0)
Krystof Wood (Gloucester, Bromsgrove, 2)
