England U18 for Ireland game
DEC
England U18 face Ireland tomorrow with a starting 15 strong enough to cause their opponents a few problems, according to head coach John Fletcher.
"The squad have had a good few days training over here and we’re looking forward to the game," he said.
"Since the summer we’ve had three good camps and one game against a London Academies side which we learnt a lot from. We now have to build on all of that against a strong Ireland team, in Ireland, which is always a big task.”
With an influx of new players to select from, Fletcher is happy with the strength of his current squad.
“We’re strong, we’ve trained well in the camps and the players are all on good programmes at their schools and in their regional academies,” he said. “But you’re always going to be tested away from home against any national side.”
Captain Barrow buzzing for game
Captain Dom Barrow will lead the side out tomorrow and is looking forward to the challenge: “It should be a good game, it will probably be fairly physical but we’ve prepared really well and our camps have all gone very smoothly, so we’re all buzzing.
“This game could set the tone for our season, we want to go out there and leave nothing in the changing room. We’re quite a new team but we have a game-plan and the new players have really stepped up to the plate, so we’ll see how we get on.”
The Under 19 England Academies Squad are also in action tomorrow against their Irish counterparts and head coach Rob Hunter has named a side including London Wasps starlet Elliot Daly and Leicester Tigers fly half George Ford.
Ford will lead the side out and is hopeful of producing of a good performance: “We’ve got to back ourselves but Ireland will be aggressive, they’re a smart team and we’ll have to be at our best to beat them.
“I was captain of the U18 side last year and I’m back with quite a few of those players for this match, so nothing changes really. This U19 age grade provides an opportunity for a lot of the lads to show what they can do ahead of selection for the U20 squad so we won't be taking it lightly.”
England U18 Team to face Ireland
Player Club
15 Jack Nowell Exeter Chiefs
14 Jack Arnott Exeter Chiefs
13 Mark Jennings Sale Sharks
12 Sam Hill Exeter Chiefs
11 Anthony Watson London Irish
10 Will Hooley Northampton Saints
9 Alex Day Northampton Saints
1 Luke Cowan-Dickie Exeter Rugby
2 Nathan Morris London Wasps
3 Danny Herriott Northampton Saints
4 Dominic Barrow (C) Leeds Carnegie
5 Tom Jubb Saracens
6 Jack Clifford Harlequins
7 Matt Hankin Saracens
8 David Sisi London Irish
Replacements
Player Club
16 Alec Hepburn London Wasps
17 Tom Smallbone London Irish
18 Max Crumpton Saracens
19 George Sandford London Irish
20 Gus Jones London Wasps
21 James Lightfoot-Brown London Irish
22 Mitchell Tamiau London Wasps
23 Henry Slade Exeter Chiefs
