National Academy coach Jim Mallinder today confirmed the England U21s squad for the opening Six Nations match against Wales at Worcester next Friday, February 3.

The 24-man line up, which will be cut to 22 in match week, includes eight players from last year’s U21s Six Nations squad and many from the 2005 Grand Slam winning England U19s team.

 Mallinder said: “The squad is a great mix of growing experience and exciting youth. We’re already seeing in training and in the Guinness Premiership that the guys who were involved with us last year have matured and developed from their experiences and we expect to see exactly the same happening with the younger ones through the season.

“This tournament is an important opportunity for these players to show what they can do outside their club environment and to take in the international arena.”

On Hartley, Academy coach Rob Hunter said: “Dylan thoroughly deserves his inclusion in the U21s squad. He is an exceptionally talented young player who has worked hard to force his way into the Saints jersey. His call up comes despite being two years young and is just reward for his performances in the Premiership and Europe this season.”

England U21 squad to face Wales

Friday, February 3, Worcester RFC - KO 8pm

FORWARDS
Richard Blaze – Worcester Warriors
Neil Briggs – Sale Sharks
Chris Brooker - Bath
Jordan Crane – Leeds Tykes
Tom Croft – Leicester Tigers
Dylan Hartley – Northampton Saints
James Haskell – London Wasps
Michael Hills – Sale Sharks
Mark Lambert – NEC Harlequins
Chris Robshaw – NEC Harlequins
Alex Rogers – NEC Harlequins
Tom Ryder – Saracens
David Wilson – Newcastle Falcons

BACKS
Anthony Allen – Gloucester
Mike Brown – NEC Harlequins
Matt Cornwell – Leicester Tigers
Thom Evans – London Wasps
Ben Foden – Sale Sharks
Toby Flood – Newcastle Falcons
James Hoyle – Newcastle Falcons
Ryan Lamb – Gloucester
Olly Morgan – Gloucester
Nick Runciman – Worcester
Rob Vickerman – Leeds Tykes

Top sevens seeds England have named three uncapped players in their 12-man squad for the IRB Sevens in Wellington and Los Angeles.  England U19s Danny Care (Leeds Tykes), who is the only uncapped player in the core sevens squad this season, has been selected alongside David Strettle, of Rotherham, and Dave Seymour, from Saracens.  The squad depart for New Zealand on Sunday ahead of the Wellington Sevens which begin on Friday, February 3, and are seeded top due to their strong performance in recent IRB Sevens tournaments. 

England Sevens coach Mike Friday said, "We have had a good start to the season with our win in Dubai, but the IRB Sevens is so tough and so many teams can win that we have to perform consistently well in all eight tournaments if we are going to achieve our aim of winning the IRB Sevens title this year. The three new caps have been impressive in training this week.  It will be a good test for all three of these young players to be taken out of the comfort zone of their clubs and put into the hostile environment of Wellington.  Sevens will test their core skills, and we will be able to examine how they cope when there is no hiding place on the pitch. The 33,000 crowd in Wellington is a harsh environment for all the players and the tournament will test their mind set as well as their ability to cope in a different climate after a long journey with an 11-hour time difference."

He added: "Luke Narraway, Ollie Phillips, Nils Mordt, Mathew Tait and Andy Vilk have also only played a handful of international sevens tournaments so again, this will be a good test for them and an important step in their development along the elite player pathway. For the majority of the players, Wellington will represent the biggest crowd they have faced and I am keen to see how they handle it. I am confident that the handful of experienced players in the squad - Henry Paul, Simon Amor and Ben Gollings - will act as a good balance to the youngsters."

England Sevens squad for Wellington and Los Angeles:

Luke Narraway (Gloucester)
Ben T Russell (Saracens)
Dave Seymour (Saracens) *
Nils Mordt (London Irish)
Henry Paul (Gloucester)
Danny Care (Leeds Tykes) *
David Strettle (Rotherham) *
Andy Vilk (Northampton Saints)
Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons)
Ben Gollings (Sunnybank, Australia)
Simon Amor (Gloucester) captain
Mathew Tait (Newcastle Falcons)

* uncapped