Pennell secures England spot to New Zealand - The Worcester Observer

Pennell secures England spot to New Zealand

Worcester Editorial 27th May, 2014 Updated: 19th Oct, 2016   0

FULL back Chris Pennell will be aiming to make his England debut this summer after securing a place on the plane to New Zealand.

The 27-year-old was named in Stuart Lancaster’s 30-man initial squad which flew out yesterday ahead of England’s three tests against the All Blacks next month.

His selection comes after a superb season for Warriors as he notably played every minute of every league match for the club.

Worcester were relegated to the Championship after finishing at the foot of the table, but his performances were enough to convince head coach Lancaster to award him a coveted spot.




Pennell is set to go up against Aviva Premiership Player of the Year Mike Brown for the 15 jersey before an extra group of players, which is likely to include full back Alex Goode, join the party after the Aviva Premiership final this weekend.

The Sixways star, who trained with the national team in Teddington last week, was also one of seven uncapped players to be selected in the squad and Lancaster said he was looking forward to seeing the group come together.


“We are excited about the squad we are taking to New Zealand and, while there continues to be challenges in selection, we will be well and truly ready for the first Test,” he said.

“It has a been good few days’ training and great to be able to work with a larger group of players in the lead-up to the Barbarians game and the tour.

“With the Barbarians game and the Aviva Premiership final to come we will make our final selection once we know the availability of all players. This group will fly out on the Monday following the Barbarians game.”

The first Test will take place on Saturday, June 7 at Eden Park in Auckland before England face New Zealand in Dunedin seven days later and then round off the series with a clash on Saturday, June 21 at the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton.

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