England U20 out to go one better
England Under-20 coaches Rob Hunter and Nick Walshe have named their 28-man squad ahead of the 2012 IRB Junior World Championships in South Africa, as they aim to go one better than their runners-up place last year.
England lost in the final last year to a formidable New Zealand outfit that have never never lost a match in the history of the championship, so they will be intent on knocking the champions off their pedestal.
The squad contains players with a huge amount of Premiership, A-League and RFU Championship experience, and head coach Hunter said that he is pleased with the quality of players at his disposal for what will be a tough tournament.
“Competition for places has been high and some good players have missed out, however we’re very pleased with the 28 selected,” said Hunter.
“The games come thick and fast in this tournament, we’ve got a tough group and we’re excited by that challenge.”
After taking on Italy in their opening match the Six Nations winners face Ireland before coming up against hosts South Africa in Stellenbosch, one year after defeating the Baby Boks 26-20.
Hunter said that his side would have to be on top form if they are going to upset South Africa on their home turf.
“We have two huge games before we come up against South Africa, but that match stands out for the experience of playing them in front of their home support.
“For now though all our attention is on that first game against Italy, each year they improve and we’ll need to be fully focused,” he said.
England Under-20 squad: Dominic Barrow, Koree Britton, Jack Clifford, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Max Crumpton, Ross Harrison, Alec Hepburn, Matt Kvesic, George Merrick, Nathan Morris, Ben Nutley, Kyle Sinckler, David Sisi, Sam Twomey, Chris Walker, Will Addison, Josh Bassett, Tommy Bell, Jamie Elliott, Tom Heathcote, Sam Hill, Ryan Mills, Ben Ransom, Dan Robson, Henry Slade, Ben Spencer, Charlie Walker, Marland Yarde.
