By George Wellbelove
England U20 star Henry Pollock has been named in the England A squad to face Australia later this month. The 19 year old Northampton Saints backrow makes up part of the 24 player squad, alongside fellow U20 teammates, in the form of Archie McParland, Afo Fasogbon and Vilikesa Sela.
Senior internationals Joe Heyes, Curtis Langdon, Tom Pearson, Ted Hill, Tom Roebuck and Tom Willis have also been included. Fraser Dingwall will captain the side.
“There’s a smattering of senior players and younger lads. Particularly the front row, we’ll be keen to have a dominant scrum with this new crop of players coming through,” said England A head coach Mark Mapletoft.
“They will need to leave a big impression, particularly with this change of spotlight and new environment. A focus is dominance upfront; they need to put their hands up and say you need to pick me.”
“It should be a stretch for those lads. We don’t want to overstretch them but we don’t want them in their comfort zone too much either. It will be a great experience.”
England U20 stars continue meteoric rise
England U20 stars continue meteoric rise The inclusion of the aforementioned England U20 players is yet another remarkable achievement in the early stages of their respective careers. Pollock and McParland have both made Premiership appearances this season and Fasogbon was able to show his scrummaging prowess against Bristol Bears and England regular, Ellis Genge.
With all four players having achieved recent success in the England U20 setup, having won the U20 Six Nations and World Rugby U20 Championship in the last year.
“If we didn’t feel they were worth looking at, they wouldn’t be looked at,” said Mark Mapletoft. This has been a collaborative process with the seniors because that is ultimately where we are trying to earmark these players for. There have been some super-positive conversations with Steve (Borthwick) and the senior staff around if this is the right time for them.
“And it should be difficult, shouldn’t it? It should be a stretch for those lads. We don’t want to overstretch them but we don’t want them in their comfort zone too much either. It will be a great experience.
No place for Kenningham and Evans
Harlequins dynamic duo, Jack Kenningham and Will Evans, have missed out on selection for the England A squad. Despite being two of the most threatening flankers in the Premiership, there is no place for either of them in Mapletoft’s side.
“The back row competition is ridiculous. There are five or six back rowers in this space already, which makes spaces in the squad very competitive.”
“If you want to play at the top level consistently, you have to be exceptional, even verging on world class.”
The inclusion of Tom Pearson and Tom Willis will be welcome news for England supporters as they try to break into the senior team setup. Supporters were expecting both players to be included in the senior Autumn Nations Series squad but were left disappointed. This will be a perfect audition to show Steve Borthwick what
he is missing.
Mapletoft embracing the challenge
Mapletoft is looking forward to the challenge of leading an A side and the upcoming game against Australia A.
Given the relative new status of both teams as they have been reintroduced into the
international setup over the last few years, there is a sense of unpredictability about the match. “There are issues surrounding that,” said Mapletoft, “there are law variations and lots of unknowns.”
“Trying to get as much in as you can to try and get a framework to play in.”
“I quite like it; it’s quite challenging. It challenges people’s understanding and their ability to make new friends and build relationships over a short space of time.”
England will host Australia A at Twickenham Stoop on Sunday 17 November.
England A squad
Forwards: Joe Batley (Bristol Bears), Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester), Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Ted Hill (Bath), Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints), Nathan Jibulu (Harlequins), Curtis Langdon (Northampton Saints), Gabriel Oghre (Bristol Bears), Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints), Vilikesa Sela (Bath), Tom Willis (Saracens)
Backs: Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester), Oscar Beard (Harlequins), Joe Carpenter (Sale Sharks), Fraser Dingwall (captain, Northampton Saints), Gabriel Ibitoye (Bristol Bears), Archie McParland (Northampton Saints), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Max Ojomoh (Bath), Will Porter (Harlequins), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), Jamie Shillcock (Leicester Tigers)
