England Under-20s coach Rob Hunter believes his side is in rude health as he prepares for another RBS 6 Nations campaign – insisting the likes of Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs prove the transition to senior Red Rose caps is more attainable than ever.
Hunter was in Berkshire this week to witness the launch of the BMW Performance Academy – a 30-strong academy involving players from the Under-16 set up all the way to the Under-20s and beyond.
The academy players will be able to pick the brains of BMW ambassador London Olympic double medallist Louis Smith and head coach Stuart Lancaster lent his support to the launch of the scheme this week.
Hunter is adamant the academy will further add to the impressive pool of talent he can call on and believes the likes of Farrell provide evidence that this year’s Under-20s could be tomorrow’s senior Six Nations stars.
“The time between being part of the England Under-20s and running out at Twickenham for the senior team can be really short as the likes of Courtney, Ben and Owen have proved,” he said.
“To have Stuart Lancaster right behind the academy is very important. We had the senior conditioners working with the Under-20s last week which was great and in general I think youth rugby is very healthy around the world.
“We have got a tough Six Nations coming up this winter and in general we have got a lot of good players playing good rugby in their clubs across the country which will help our programme and hopefully the senior team as well.
“It is good for the players to have the incentive there and to see the example of the likes of Owen and Ben but it is also good to have that realism to make sure people concentrate on focusing on consistency.”
