England U18s name squad for South Africa tour
England U18s have named their squad ahead of a three-match tour of South Africa.
The U18s will face France U18 (12 August), South Africa Schools A (16 August) and South Africa Schools (20 August).
“The tour gives us an opportunity to play in the Southern Hemisphere in a different environment and against a very tough opposition,” said Rugby Football Union national academy development manager John Fletcher.
“It also gives this group of players an opportunity to bond and for us to see how they adapt away from home.”
The squad will be captained by Harlequins wing Gabriel Ibitoye for the tour.
“He is one of our more experienced players, he has good energy and in terms of how we want to play and express ourselves, Gabriel epitomises that every time he goes onto the field,” added Fletcher.
“There will be different challenges as the opposition will pose different problems, our aim is to adapt and come up with the solutions to those problems.
“We will stick to our principles in defence and attack and we expect the players to adapt on the field. The plan is to give the players a full tour experience, which is crucial to their development.”
The U18 squad will be coached by Fletcher, Peter Walton, Mark Luffman and Russell Earnshaw, and supported by Richard Hill, who mentors a number of the U18 squad. As part of the progression through the national age grade programme, Martin Haag and Rory Teague from the U20 management team will attend some of the tour and watch all of the games.
Fixtures:
France U18 (Friday, 12 August) 11am BST
South Africa Schools A (Tuesday, 16 August) 1.30pm BST
South Africa Schools (Saturday, 20 August) 1.15pm BST
England U18 South Africa 2016 | |||
First Name | Surname | Academy | School |
Josh | Bayliss | Bath Rugby | Millfield School |
Jamie | Blamire | Newcastle Falcons | Gosforth Academy |
Rory | Brand | London Irish | Wellington College |
Ratu Joe | Cokanasiga | London Irish | Bushe Academy |
Ben | Curry | Sale Sharks | Oundle School |
Tom | Curry | Sale Sharks | Oundle School |
Levi | Davis | Unattached | Denstone College |
Ali | Crossdale | Saracens | Sedbergh School |
James | Grayson | Northampton Saints | Moulton College |
Ted | Hill | Worcester Warriors | Worcester College |
Gabriel | Ibitoye | Harlequins | Trinity |
Ciaran | Knight | Gloucester Rugby | St Peters |
Dino | Lamb-Cona | Harlequins | Cranleigh |
Jarod | Leat | Wasps | St Pauls Catholic College |
Ben | Loader | London Irish | Wellington College |
Sam | Moore | Sale Sharks | Sedbergh School |
Oli | Morris | Saracens | New Hall |
Ehren | Painter | Northampton Saints | Felsted |
Tom | Parton | London Irish | Wellington College |
Alex | Seville | Gloucester Rugby | Hartpury College |
Jacob | Umaga | Wasps | Wyggeston & QEI College |
Henry | Walker | Gloucester Rugby | Bromsgrove School |
Harry | Simmons | Leicester Tigers | Gresham School |
Matt | Williams | London Irish | Wellington College |
Josh | Williams | Newcastle Falcons | Hartlepool Sixth Form College |
Tom | Willis | Wasps | The Henley College |
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