Ethan Grayson, George Hendy, Tom Litchfield and Tom Lockett have been named in Alan Dickens’ England Under-20s squad ahead of their summer clashes – with the Northampton Saints quartet among the 32-man squad to travel to Italy for the Six Nations Under-20 Summer Series.
Centres Grayson and Litchfield will be hoping to add to their five caps at U20-level this summer, joining Saints teammates Hendy and Lockett for the Series in Treviso and Verona between 24 June and 12 July.
The Under-20 Summer Series – which includes the Six Nations unions plus Georgia and South Africa – will provide a regional alternative to the postponed World Rugby U20 Championship that will return in 2023.
Head coach Dickens said: “We’ve had a productive time in camp in Newcastle over the past week, and two successful training games against Scotland that have provided great match play opportunities as we prepare for the summer series.
“We’ve got a great mix of players in the squad. Some with experience of playing at U20 level already and some players who are new to the squad. I’m really pleased with the way they are all supporting and learning from one another.
“We have challenging opposition in our pool games against South Africa, France and Ireland. We’ve prepared well and the squad looks forward to the challenges an international series such as this provides.”
England Under-20 squad for Six Nations Under-20 Summer Series
Charlie Bracken, Saracens, Caps 0
Lucas Brooke, London Irish, Caps 4
Tom Carr-Smith, Bath Rugby, Caps 3
Lewis Chessum, Leicester Tigers, Caps 3
Chandler Cunningham-South, London Irish, Caps 3
Greg Fisilau, Wasps, Caps 2
Ollie Fletcher, Newcastle Falcons, Caps 1
Ethan Grayson, Northampton Saints, Caps 5
Alex Harmes, London Irish, Caps 0
Sam Harris, Bath Rugby, Caps 0
George Hendy, Northampton Saints, Caps 3
Emeka Ilione, Leicester Tigers, Caps 6
Louie Johnson, Newcastle Falcons, Caps 5
Toby Knight, Saracens, Caps 5
Tom Litchfield, Northampton Saints, Caps 5
Tom Lockett, Northampton Saints, Caps 4
Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, Wasps, Caps 1
Archie McArthur, Wasps, Caps 2
Tumy Onasanya, Sale Sharks, Caps 0
Conor Oresanya, Harlequins, Caps 0
Charlie Rice, Bristol Bears, Caps 3
Ewan Richards, Bath Rugby, Caps 7
Ethan Staddon, Bath Rugby, Caps 0
Finn Theobald-Thomas, Worcester, Caps 2
Andrew Turner, Bristol Bears, Caps 0
Fin Smith, Worcester Warriors, Caps 5
Iwan Stephens, Newcastle Falcons, Caps 1
John Stewart, Bath Rugby, Caps 5
Mikey Summerfield, London Irish, Caps 5
Jed Walsh, Leicester Tigers, Caps 0
Jevaughn Warren, Saracens, Caps 0
Tobi Wilson, Worcester Warriors, Caps 0
Pool A
France
Ireland
England
South Africa
Pool B
Scotland
Wales
Italy
Georgia
England’s Pool A games
Round 1 – England v South Africa, Friday 24 June, KO 4pm (BST), Payanini Centre, Verona
Round 2 – France v England, Wednesday 29 June, KO 4pm (BST), Payanini Centre, Verona
Round 3 – Ireland v England, Tuesday 5 July, KO 7pm (BST), Payanini Centre, Verona
Play offs
Tuesday 12 July, KO TBC, Stadio Monigo, Treviso
Every game of the Under 20 Summer Series will be streamed via the Six Nations Rugby U20 YouTube channel.
