Six Saints youngsters named in England Under-20s EPS squad

Henry Pollock, Reuben Logan, Craig Wright, Archie McParland, Will Glister and Toby Cousins are all included.

The selection has been made earlier than in previous seasons as England Under-20s head coach Mark Mapletoft and forwards coach Andy Titterrell aim to tighten cohesion within the collective and build into the upcoming U20 Six Nations and U20 World Championships.

Mapletoft takes charge in his first full term steering the pathways side after three years of involvement with the England U18s, as well as a decade worth of experience coaching Harlequins prior.

Former England international and British & Irish Lions tourist Titterrell continues his pathway role into a fourth campaign, specialising in coaching the team’s pack after joining the national set-up from Wasps in 2020.

The U20 class of 2024 will prepare for another year of competitive action with camps at Browns Sports Resort, Portugal and Bisham Abbey across December and January, as well as a newly announced pair of exhibition warm-ups against Bath Rugby and Oxford University.

Mapletoft’s men take on a select XV from the Somerset outfit on January 6 at Dings Crusaders RFC (5pm GMT kick-off), while a meeting with the university side follows a week later at Oxford University (2pm GMT kick-off).