London Irish Academy trio named in England men’s U20 Six Nations squad

London Irish Academy are well represented in the England men’s U20 Six Nations squad, with Lucas Brooke, Luke Green and Tarek Haffar all selected.

England men’s U20 head coach Alan Dickens has named his 32-player squad for the 2021 Six Nations Championship to take place in Cardiff later this month.

Six players included in the squad have been capped previously at U20 level: Harvey Beaton (Saracens), Jack Clement (Gloucester Rugby), Luke Green (London Irish), Sam Riley (Harlequins), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks) and Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers).

There are 8 changes from the EPS squad announced in January with Jack Bates (Bristol Bears), Tarek Haffar (London Irish), Louis Hillman-Cooper (Gloucester Rugby), Tom Litchfield (Northampton Saints), Arthur Relton (Exeter Chiefs), Ollie Stonham (Saracens), Harry Taylor (Gloucester Rugby) and Archie Vanes (Leicester Tigers) all receiving call ups.

Speaking about the selection Dickens said: “In a challenging season the lads have been excellent and I’ve been pleased we managed to get some game time along the way.

“Obviously only 32 are fortunate to make the squad – and there have been some players missing out due to injury – but it has certainly been a wider squad effort going all the way back to November last year when we played our first north v south match at St. George’s Park.

“We’ve had a couple of camps in the last six weeks which helped bring the group together. The preparation has been good and the commitment from the players has been fantastic."

The U20s Six Nations is taking place later than usual this year with England beginning their campaign against France on 19 June, KO 5pm with details on how to watch available in due course.

England men’s U20 squad for the 2021 Six Nations:

Forwards (18)
Harvey Beaton (Saracens)
Phil Brantingham (Newcastle Falcons)
Lucas Brooke (London Irish)
Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby)
Jack Clement (Gloucester Rugby)
Luke Green (London Irish)
Alex Groves (Bristol Bears)
Tarek Haffar (London Irish)
Lewis Holsey (Worcester Warriors)
Ethan Hunt (Gloucester Rugby)
Emeka Ilione (Leicester Tigers)
Nahum Merigan (Bath Rugby)
Ewan Richards (Bath Rugby)
Sam Riley (Harlequins)
Ollie Stonham (Saracens)
Harry Taylor (Gloucester Rugby)
Freddie Thomas (Gloucester Rugby)
Archie Vanes (Leicester Tigers)
 
Backs (14)
Charlie Atkinson (Wasps)
Seb Atkinson (Worcester Warriors)
Deago Bailey (Bristol Bears)
Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby)
Jack Bates (Bristol Bears)
Louis Hillman-Cooper (Gloucester Rugby)
Dan Lancaster (Leeds Tykes)
Tom Litchfield (Northampton Saints)
Tommy Mathews (Northampton Saints)
Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks)
Arthur Relton (Exeter Chiefs)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Fin Smith (Worcester Warriors)
Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
 
England men’s U20 Six Nations Fixtures (all at Cardiff Arms Park)

• Saturday 19 June: England v France, KO 5pm
• Friday 25 June: England v Scotland, KO 2pm
• Thursday 1 July: Ireland v England, KO 8pm
• Wednesday 7 July: Wales v England, KO 8pm
• Tuesday 13 July: England v Italy, KO 2pm