London Irish trio named in England Under-20’s Elite Player Squad

Three London Irish Academy players have been included in England Under-20’s 32-man Elite Player Squad for the 2023 campaign.

Chandler Cunningham-South, who has already been capped at U20 level, is joined by Calum Scott and Afolabi Fasogbon in the international setup ahead of next month’s Under-20 Six Nations.

Alan Dickens’ side opens its Six Nations campaign against Scotland on Friday, 3 February (KO 19:00 GMT) at Twickenham Stoop, the evening before the England senior men’s team opens its own tournament.  

To continue preparations ahead of the opening fixture, the men’s U20 squad will convene for camp at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre on Wednesday 11 January, which will include two trial matches against Oxford University (K.O. 15:00 Saturday, 14 January) and Loughborough University (K.O. 13:00 Saturday, 21 January). 

In addition to the Six Nations, England men’s U20 also will compete in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship this upcoming summer. 

England’s player pathway programme is a vital development tool for future international rugby; of the 48 players capped for England last year, 42 of them played England U20.  

England men’s U20 head coach, Alan Dickens, said: “We’re looking forward to taking on Oxford University in front of a lively, and hopefully packed-out Iffley Road before we back up against the Loughborough Students the following week.

“These warm-up games are an important part of our preparation for the Under-20 Six Nations tournament and will provide an opportunity to see players perform as a team ahead of the Six Nations.” 

Forwards  

Archie McArthur (Gloucester) 
George Patten (Northampton Saints) 
Calum Scott (London Irish) 
Finn Theobald-Thomas (Gloucester) 
Nathan Jibulu (Harlequins) 
Afolabi Fasogbon (London Irish) 
James Halliwell (Bristol Bears) 
Tim Hoyt (Leicester Tigers) 
Harry Browne (Harlequins) 
Lewis Chessum (Leicester Tigers) 
Danny Eite (Gloucester) 
Robert Carmichael (Leicester Tigers) 
Finn Carnduff (Leicester Tigers) 
Joshua Manz (Leicester Tigers) 
Guy Pepper (Newcastle Falcons) 
Josh Dingley (Bath Rugby) 
Chandler Cunningham-South (London Irish) 
Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs) 

Backs  

Charlie Bracken (Saracens) 
Nye Thomas (Sale Sharks) 
Sam Harris (Bath Rugby) 
Sam Worsley (Bristol Bears) 
Cassius Cleaves (Harlequins) 
Joseph Woodward (Leicester Tigers) 
Rekeiti Ma'asi-White (Sale Sharks) 
Benjamin Waghorn (Harlequins) 
Jacob Cusick (Leicester Tigers) 
Joe Jenkins (Bristol Bears) 
Josh Hathaway (Gloucester) 
Tobias Elliott (Saracens) 
Connor Slevin (Harlequins) 
Louie Johnson (Newcastle Falcons) 

U20 Six Nations home fixtures  

Friday 3 February – England v Scotland – KO 19:00 GMT – Twickenham Stoop, London 
Friday 10 February – England v Italy – KO 19:00 GMT – Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 
Friday 24 February – Wales v England – KO 19:15 GMT  
Friday 10 March – England v France – KO 20:00 GMT – The Recreation Ground, Bath 
Sunday 19 March – Ireland v England – KO 17:00 GMT 

Tickets for the 2023 Under-20 Six Nations home fixtures are on sale and can be purchased via englandrugby.com/tickets.