A QUARTET of young Worcester Warriors have been named in the England Under 20s squad for this summer’s World Rugby Championship in France.
Forwards Ted Hill, James Scott and Beck Cutting are included as part of head coach Steve Bates’ 28-man squad, while back Will Butler has also been selected.
England meet Argentina in Narbonne on the opening day of the tournament on Wednesday at 5.30pm before games with Italy in Perpignan on June 3 and Scotland at Beziers’ Stade de la Méditerranée on June 7.
Narbonne and Perpignan will host the semi-finals and ranking play-offs on June 12, with Beziers hosting all finals day matches on June 17 across two pitches.
The squad includes eight players who were involved at last year’s tournament in Georgia where England were beaten by New Zealand in the final with Alex Seville (Gloucester Rugby), Henry Walker (Gloucester Rugby), Ciaran Knight (Gloucester Rugby), James Grayson (Northampton Saints), Butler (Warriors), Tom Parton (London Irish), Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins) and Ali Crossdale (Saracens) playing in their second World Rugby U20 Championship.
England Under 20s have reached the final in five consecutive years, winning the tournament in 2013, 2014 and 2016, and have reached eight out of ten finals since 2008.
“Selection has been incredibly difficult as there were a lot of players to choose from and in some positions it’s been a really tight call,” Bates said.
“We saw real glimpses of what this team is capable of during the Six Nations and I was proud of the way they performed.
“The challenge for us now is to consistently play high-intensity, high-tempo rugby and to turn up the heat on our opposition for the full 80 minutes.
“The World Rugby Under 20 Championship is a fantastic tournament and for some this will be the pinnacle of their international careers.
“Some will go on to be very good professionals but not all will play international rugby again so they should look at this as a fantastic opportunity to play on the world stage and showcase their ability while representing England,” he added.