Saints prop Devante Onojaife has been named in Scotland’s 28-man Under-20s squad for the upcoming Six Nations championship.
The 19-year-old Saints Academy starlet eligible through the Scottish Qualified programme and will now join up with the rest of the squad next week ahead of their first clash of the Championship – a trip down to Colwyn Bay to take on their Welsh counterparts.
Onojaife has progressed from the Saints Junior Academy into the Senior Academy, alongside older brother Jordan, and made his first-team debut in the Black, Green and Gold back in 2016 against Newcastle Falcons.
“Devante is another example of a young talent who has developed through our Academy system, he's worked extremely hard to earn this call-up for Scotland,” said Academy manager Simon Sinclair.
“We’re very proud of his achievement and everyone back at Franklin’s Gardens will be supporting him and watching his progress – I’m sure he will represent Saints brilliantly.”
Onojaife has already gained international honours, representing England at Under-18s level, but now will line up as one of only five English-based players in the Scotland set-up.
Stevie Scott, Scotland Under-20s head coach, said: “We’ve selected a youthful and talented squad which we believe has the ability to perform in this year’s Six Nations championship.
“We’ve chosen a well-rounded group of players and they’ve already shown throughout our training camp that they have the ability to pick-up and learn new plays quickly, which will be vital as we look to lay down an early marker in this year’s tournament.
“We still have a lot of work to do as we prepare to face Wales next month, but I have every confidence that this group of players will be focused for the vital games ahead.”
👊 Congrats to @onojaifedevante on his call up!
😇🏴 https://t.co/UNfSxS2JBJ— Northamptün Saints (@SaintsRugby) January 25, 2018
