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I am sure these lads are all quality players with great futures.
However, one look at the southern public schools they come from suggests either the selectors are snobbishly myopic, or the game continues to have a problem with attracting working class lads from all over the country and especially the north.

Discuss.

ned3 - I think you are being a bit one eyed here to be honest. I take it you know all these schools/colleges then?

for a start they are not all from down south?

plus

Charlie Thacker (Leicester Grammar

Callum Chick (Gosforth Academy, Newcastle Falcons)

Ten-try England Under 18s beat Portugal in Poland




John Fletcher talks to players



England U18 62 Portugal U18 5

ENGLAND Under 18s put ten tries past Portugal in their opening game of the FIRA/AER European Championship in Poznan, Poland, winning 62-5.

Head Coach John Fletcher’s side will play Wales in the semi-final on Tuesday, after they beat Scotland 23-21.

Tries from Josh Bainbridge, two from Rotimi Segun, two from Kai Little, Cameron Cowell, Jack Stanley, Taylor Prell, Harry Mallinder and Joe Marchant gave England the win, while Mallinder also added 12 points with the boot.

After a cagey opening five minutes, in which Portugal more than held their own, England’s forward power eventually told and Bainbridge touched down after a rolling maul.

Wing Segun then scored twice in quick succession, showing good acceleration out wide before touching down.

England looked dangerous the ball in hand and had two more tries before half time – Kai Little scored both to make it 29-0 after a Mallinder conversion.

Portugal grabbed their only try of the match just before the break, and it was a while before England had their sixth. It eventually came from Cowell who showed good pace before darting over for his first England try.

Stanley then bulldozed over before Prell got himself on the end of a lovely team move for England’s seventh and eighth tries.

Mallinder spotted a gap through the middle to score before Marchant rounded things off at the death to make it 62-5.

Head Coach John Fletcher said: “We’re pleased to get the win, and to score ten tries is always pleasing. There are areas to work on – but we worked the guys in training yesterday and it was a good blow out for them today. Huge credit to Portugal though, they more than played their part and I thought that they deserved their try.”

Captain Mallinder added: “We’re just pleased to kick this competition off with a win. The aim is to get better in each game we play, we know that there are things to work on, which we will do over the next few days.”

Points: Bainbridge 1T, Segun 2T, Little 2T, Cowell 1T, Stanley 1T, Prell 1T, Mallinder 1T, Marchant 1T; Mallinder 6C

England U18 starting XV against Portugal

15 Cameron Cowell (St Pauls Catholic College, London Irish)
14 Kai Little (Hartpury College, Exeter Chiefs)
13 Joe Marchant (Peter Symonds, Harlequins)
12 Harry Mallinder (Rugby School, Northampton Saints)
11 Rotimi Segun (Stowe School, Northampton Saints)
10 Theo Brophy-Clews (Abingdon School, London Irish)
9 Alex Mitchell (Lymm High School, Sale Sharks)

1 Owen Hills (Queen Elizabeth Wyggeston College, Leicester Tigers)
2 James Fish (Trent College, Northampton Saints)
3 Josh Ibuanokpe (Dulwich College, Harlequins)
4 Huw Taylor (Old Swinford Hospital, Worcester Warriors)
5 Stanley South (Whitgift School, Harlequins)
6 Joe Batley (Hartpury College, Gloucester Rugby)
7 Josh Bainbridge (Prince Henry’s Grammar, Leeds Carnegie)
8 Callum Chick (Gosforth Academy, Newcastle Falcons)

Replacements:

16 Ollie Adams (St Pauls Catholic College, London Irish) on for James Fish 46 mins
17 Lewis Boyce (Prince Henry's Grammar, Leeds Carnegie) on for Owen Hills 46 mins
18 Jack Stanley (Truro College, Exeter Chiefs) on for Josh Ibuanokpe 35 mins
19 George Nott (Kings School Chester, Sale Sharks)
20 Will Safe (Hartpury College, Gloucester Rugby) on for Joe Batley (42 mins)
21 Sam Underhill (Sir Thomas Rich’s School, Gloucester Rugby) on for Josh Bainbridge 56 mins
22 Jack Maunder (Blundells School, Exeter Chiefs) on for Alex Mitchell 50 mins
23 Charlie Thacker (Leicester Grammar, Leicester Tigers) on for Theo Brophy-Clews 60 mins
24 Lucas Slowik (Filton College, Bristol Rugby)
25 Taylor Prell (Giggleswick School, Leeds Carnegie) on for Kai Little 50 mins

Tournament schedule

April 11, Match 1
England 62-5 Portugal
Venue: Plewiska, 11.00am

April 15, Match 2
England v Wales
Venue: Pobiedziska, 2.00pm

April 19, Match 3
England v TBC
Venue: TBC

Joe Marchant scoring for England


ENGLAND Under 18 have named their side to face Wales in the semi-final of the FIRA/AER European Championship in Poznan tomorrow (kick-off 1.00pm BST). A live stream of the game will be available here: [www.eurorugby2014.pl]

Coaches John Fletcher, Pete Walton, Ian Peel and Jon Callard have made 11 changes from the side that beat Portugal 62-5 with tour captain Sam Underhill coming in at openside.

Front row coach Peel said: “It’s always a big game against Wales and this will be no different. A few of these guys played them a couple of weeks ago at Neath RFC and put in a good performance, so we’ll be looking for similar.

“As a group we have trained well, the facilities in Poland have been excellent and we’ve enjoyed being here. The FIRA competition is always a good chance to play against the best players at this age group.”

Captain Underhill added: “We’re looking forward to playing Wales – we’ve gelled as a squad since we’ve been here and it’s a good chance to see how far we’ve come. We put in a good performance against Portugal but the challenge is to improve on that in our next game.”

England Under 18 starting XV against Wales

15 Taylor Prell (Giggleswick School, Leeds Carnegie)
14 George Perkins (Oaklands, Saracens)
13 Lucas Slowik (Filton College, Bristol Rugby)
12 Charlie Thacker (Leicester Grammar, Leicester Tigers)
11 Kai Little (Hartpury College, Exeter Chiefs)
10 Theo Brophy-Clews (Abingdon School, London Irish)
9 Jack Maunder (Blundells School, Exeter Chiefs)

1 Lewis Boyce (Prince Henry's Grammar, Leeds Carnegie)
2 Ollie Adams (St Pauls Catholic College, London Irish)
3 Jack Stanley (Truro College, Exeter Chiefs)
4 Huw Taylor (Old Swinford Hospital, Worcester Warriors)
5 George Nott (Kings School Chester, Sale Sharks)
6 Joe Batley (Hartpury College, Gloucester Rugby)
7 Sam Underhill (Sir Thomas Rich’s School, Gloucester Rugby, captain)
8 Will Safe (Hartpury College, Gloucester Rugby)

Replacements

16 James Fish (Trent College, Northampton Saints)
17 Owen Hills (Queen Elizabeth Wyggeston College, Leicester Tigers)
18 Josh Ibuanokpe (Dulwich College, Harlequins)
19 Stanley South (Whitgift School, Harlequins)
20 Callum Chick (Gosforth Academy, Newcastle Falcons)
21 Josh Bainbridge (Prince Henry’s Grammar, Leeds Carnegie)
22 Alex Mitchell (Lymm High School, Sale Sharks)
23 Harry Mallinder (Rugby School, Northampton Saints)
24 Joe Marchant (Peter Symonds, Harlequins)
25 Rotimi Segun (Stowe School, Northampton Saints)
26 Cameron Cowell (St Pauls Catholic College, London Irish)

Tournament schedule

April 11, Match 1
England 62-5 Portugal
Venue: Plewiska, 11.00am

April 15, Match 2
England v Wales
Venue: Pobiedziska, 2.00pm

April 19, Match 3
England v TBC
Venue: TBC

Late Mallinder kick puts England U18 into FIRA final

Harry Mallinder in action for England


England Under 18 11 Wales Under 18 9

A LATE Harry Mallinder penalty put England U18 into their fourth successive FIRA/AER European Championship final as they beat Wales 11-9 in Pobiedziska, Poland.

Prop Jack Stanley’s early try – his second in as many games – had given England a 5-0 lead, but Wales hit back with three penalties to make it 9-5 before England fly half Theo Brophy Clews clawed one back before the break to make it 9-8.

In terrible conditions, that’s exactly how the scoreline stayed until five minutes before the final whistle when Mallinder stepped up to send his kick between the posts from just short of half way.

Wales did have their own chances to win before that, missing three penalties in the second period while England were down to 14 men with Taylor Prell in the sinbin.

Head Coach John Fletcher said: “It was almost like a winter’s day up north out there today – not only was it wet but it was extremely cold. We made mistakes, but that’s to be expected in the conditions. It’s sometimes easier not to have the ball when the weather’s like that, and to be honest it could have gone either way.

“We’re really pleased to get into the FIRA final though – the lads deserve it. They didn’t give up against a strong Welsh defence and got their reward late on.”

Points: Stanley 1T; Brophy Clews 1P, Mallinder 1P

England Under 18 starting XV against Wales

15 Taylor Prell (Giggleswick School, Leeds Carnegie)
14 George Perkins (Oaklands, Saracens)
13 Lucas Slowik (Filton College, Bristol Rugby)
12 Charlie Thacker (Leicester Grammar, Leicester Tigers)
11 Kai Little (Hartpury College, Exeter Chiefs)
10 Theo Brophy Clews (Abingdon School, London Irish)
9 Jack Maunder (Blundells School, Exeter Chiefs)

1 Lewis Boyce (Prince Henry's Grammar, Leeds Carnegie)
2 Ollie Adams (St Pauls Catholic College, London Irish)
3 Jack Stanley (Truro College, Exeter Chiefs)
4 Huw Taylor (Old Swinford Hospital, Worcester Warriors)
5 George Nott (Kings School Chester, Sale Sharks)
6 Joe Batley (Hartpury College, Gloucester Rugby)
7 Sam Underhill (Sir Thomas Rich’s School, Gloucester Rugby, captain)
8 Will Safe (Hartpury College, Gloucester Rugby)

Replacements:

16 James Fish (Trent College, Northampton Saints) on for Ollie Adams 63 mins
17 Owen Hills (Queen Elizabeth Wyggeston College, Leicester Tigers) on for Lewis Boyce 58 mins
18 Josh Ibuanokpe (Dulwich College, Harlequins) on for Jack Stanley 35 mins
19 Stanley South (Whitgift School, Harlequins)
20 Callum Chick (Gosforth Academy, Newcastle Falcons) on for Will Safe 42 mins
21 Josh Bainbridge (Prince Henry’s Grammar, Leeds Carnegie) on for Huw Taylor 50 mins
22 Alex Mitchell (Lymm High School, Sale Sharks) on for Jack Maunder 58 mins
23 Harry Mallinder (Rugby School, Northampton Saints) on for Theo Brophy Clews 40 mins
24 Joe Marchant (Peter Symonds, Harlequins)
25 Rotimi Segun (Stowe School, Northampton Saints) on for Kai Little 53 mins
26 Cameron Cowell (St Pauls Catholic College, London Irish)

ENGLAND Under 18 Clubs and Schools will be without captain Jonny Coser for their match against France Under 18 A the French National Training Centre in Marcoussis on Sunday April 20 (1.30pm local time).

Coser, of Barnard Castle School and Durham, has not fully recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained in Wednesday’s 30-22 defeat by Ireland Under 18 Clubs in England’s opening match of the Tri Nations Festival.

Full-back Charlie Dockery will captain England in Coser’s absence with number eight Dale Lemon as vice-captain.

Lemon is one of nine changes to the side beaten by Ireland with all nine of Wednesday’s replacements starting against France.

France beat Ireland 7-3 in the festival opener last Sunday and Dave Reed, England’s head coach, is expecting them to pose a stern physical challenge for his side.

“They are a big physical side and I expect that they will get stuck into us from the start. But we are hoping that we will be able to play with a lot of pace and run them around a bit,” Reed said.

“We could have torrid time in terms of their physicality but I’m not sure that they will live with our expansive game.”

Reed also expects a more disciplined performance from his players against France after a heavy penalty count cost them against Ireland.

“We had a great session analysing the Ireland game where they players themselves identified discipline as a key issue,” Reed said.

“That was very encouraging from a coach’s point of view and it’s all about the development process and players learning from their mistakes.”

England Under 18 Clubs and Schools v France Under 18 A:

15 Charlie Dockery (Epsom College and Surrey - captain)

14 Michael Ledger (St Benedicts Ealing and Middlesex)

13 Ben Dixon (Carre’s GS, Newark RFC and NLD)

12 Charles Dunbar (Stamford School and NLD)

11 James Neal (Hartpury College and Warwickshire)

10 Dan Lewis ((St Joseph’s Ipswich, Bedford Blues and Eastern Counties)

9 Ben Pointon (Rugby School, Northampton Saints and East Midlands)

1 Josh Waller (Peterborough Regional College, Peterborough RFC and East Midlands)

2 Locryn Williams (Truro School and Cornwall)

3 Charlie Brown (Southend HS, Westcliff RFC and Essex)

4 Adam Thresher ((Judd School, Sevenoaks RFC and Kent)

5 Tom Bell (Uppingham School and Leicestershire)

6 Alex Brown (Oaklands College, Saracens RFC and Hertfordshire)

7 Michael Dewar (Abingdon School and Oxfordshire)

8 Dale Lemon (Cleeve School, Cheltenham RFC and Gloucestershire)

Replacements:

Owen Griffiths (Moulton College, Biggleswade RFC and East Midlands)

Adam Brocklebank (Myerscough College and Lancashire)

Jay Tyack (Bryanston School, Truro RFC and Cornwall)

Jonny Coser (Barnard Castle School and Durham)

Liam Parfitt (Rishworth School and Lancashire)

Cameron Lee-Everton (Moulton College and East Midlands)

Harry Shepherd (Moulton College and East Midlands)

Tom Morgan (Stonyhurst College and Lancashire)

Conor Bullivant (Moulton College, Northampton Old Scouts RFC and East Midlands)