England have named their 32-man squad for the Under-20s Six Nations including six players with previous experience at this level.
Among those is Gloucester flanker Jack Clement, called up by Eddie Jones for the senior squad at the end of 2020, as well as young Leicester Tigers scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet.
And head coach Alan Dickens was thrilled at the way the squad have worked in recent training camps ahead of the opening clash with France.
He 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.
“I’m really excited, but ultimately it’s about the players. We have a few coming back for a second year at U20s, but the rest weren’t fortunate to play at U18 level last year due to Covid.
“I’m really looking forward to them being able to put on an England shirt and represent their country which is something that a lot of them haven’t done for a long time.”
England players will meet for a training camp at Bisham Abbey on June 13 before heading to Wales for the Championship, including an opening clash with France on June 19.
England squad for the Under-20s 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)
