Northampton Saints Academy players Jack Lewis, Alex Mead, George Tonga’uhia, Sonny Goode, Hardy Linnell, Hugh Shields and Charlie Tamani have all been named in Jonathan Pendlebury’s 60-man squad for this weekend’s England U18 development camp.
After an impressive 67-40 win and 11 tries scored against Sale Sharks at the weekend, marking the end of the opening stages of the PREM Next Gen Academy League, the young Saints will join up with the group at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre on Wednesday for the first four-day development camp of the season, which will be split into two, day-and-a-half sessions.
Assistant coach Will Parkin said, “Our focus for this camp is speed and support, bringing both areas to life on and off the field. We have a large player pool this weekend, with a varied level of experience from players with multiple caps to players coming in for the first time, which is exciting.
“From an attacking point of view, it’s going to be heavily focused on developing the players’ core skills and ability to be comfortable in unstructured scenarios. We want to put their decision-making under pressure and challenge them on how good they can be at getting the ball to space, whilst making sure they continue to develop quality contact skills that underpin our attacking game.
“We’re bringing these players together to test themselves in a different environment, surrounded by the best players in the country at their age. So, it’s vital they come in and are exposed to an environment that's more challenging than what they are used too, so they can go back to their clubs, schools and colleges as better players.”
England U18 Men’s October Development Camp squad (includes academy, school/college and U18 caps)
Forwards
Seva Batikora (Leicester Tigers, Brooksby College, 2 caps)
Ben Beadle (Saracens, Sedbergh School, uncapped)
Kwame Bekoe (Leicester Tigers, Norwich School, 3 caps)
Fin Charles (Leicester Tigers, Denstone College, uncapped)
Oscar Churchouse (Gloucester Rugby, Hartpury College, uncapped)
Tom Dargan (Saracens, Harrow School, uncapped)
Josh De Waal (Gloucester Rugby, St Edwards School Oxford, uncapped)
Leo Dickinson (Harlequins, Kings College Wimbledon)
Joe Edmunds (Leicester Tigers, Denstone College, uncapped)
Tiane Elone (Saracens, Mill Hill School, uncapped)
Hendro Hattingh (Sale Sharks, Scarisbrick School, uncapped)
AJ Henry (Saracens, Mill Hill, 2 caps)
Jordan Ikeh (Sale Sharks, Stockport Grammar, 3 caps)
Freddie Jones (Saracens, Sutton Valence School, 2 caps)
Zak Jones (Saracens, Mill Hill School, uncapped)
Jeremy Keys (Exeter Chiefs, Exeter College, uncapped)
Ben Koolen (Gloucester Rugby, Bloxham School, uncapped)
Henry Laidlow (Harlequins, Trinity School, 7 caps)
Kajetan Lewandowski (Leicester Tigers, Brooksby College, uncapped)
Jack Lewis (Northampton Saints, Northampton School for Boys, 5 caps)
Alex Mead (Northampton Saints, Perse School, uncapped)
James Moore (Sale Sharks, Sedbergh School, uncapped)
Euan Oakes (Newcastle Red Bulls, Gosforth Academy, uncapped)
Lawrence Ogbonnaya (Sale Sharks, Kirkham Grammar School, 3 caps)
Charles Rotimi (Saracens, Campion School, uncapped)
Ben Smith (Yorkshire Academy, Wath Academy, uncapped)
Teddy Smith-Milne (Gloucester Rugby, Clifton College, uncapped)
Marcus Southwell (Leicester Tigers, Oakham School, 2 caps)
Mawgan Talling (Exeter Chiefs, Exeter College, uncapped)
George Tonga'uhia (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Harry Westlake (Exeter Chiefs, Ivybridge Community College, uncapped)
Ellis Woolrych (Harlequins, St John’s School Leatherhead, uncapped)
Max Worsley (Saracens, Mill Hill, uncapped)
Alex Yeabsley (Bath Rugby, Millfield, uncapped)
Backs
James Alcock (Leicester Tigers, Brooksby College, uncapped)
Stanley Amor (Harlequins, Hampton School, uncapped)
Aston Barrington-Hibbert (Bath Rugby, Millfield, uncapped)
Will Bayston (Sale Sharks, Sedbergh School, 2 caps)
Rio Bennett (Saracens, Brighton College, uncapped)
Charlie Bosanko (Exeter Chiefs, Exeter College, uncapped)
Junior Denny (Gloucester Rugby, Bloxham School, 5 caps)
Ajay Edwards (Newcastle Red Bulls, Durham School, 3 caps)
Lochie Glackin (Leicester Tigers, Denstone College, uncapped)
Sonny Goode (Northampton Saints, Bloxham School, 2 caps)
Max Hooper (Bath Rugby, Beechen Cliff School, uncapped)
Hardy Linnell (Northampton Saints, Bloxham School, uncapped)
Samuel Marshall (Harlequins, Whitgift School, uncapped)
Will Moore (Bristol Bears Clifton College, uncapped)
Ollie Myall (Leicester Tigers, Oxford College, uncapped)
Hugh Shields (Northampton Saints, Northampton School for Boys, 5 caps)
Oscar Talbot (Leicester Tigers, Rugby School, 6 caps)
Charlie Tamani (Northampton Saints, Finborough School, 7 caps)
Jack Taylor (Bristol Bears, Hartpury College, uncapped)
James Townsend (Leicester Tigers, Warwick School, 6 caps)
Declan Treacey (Bath Rugby, Beechen Cliff School, 7 caps)
Jack Tyler (Harlequins, Cardinal Newman, uncapped)
Caylen Umaga (Yorkshire Academy, Bishop Burton, uncapped)
Alfie Warwick (Newcastle Red Bulls, Gosforth Academy, uncapped)
Kai Wilkinson (Gloucester Rugby, St Edwards School Oxford, uncapped)
Krystof Wood (Gloucester Rugby, Bromsgrove School, 2 caps)