Sharks academy stars Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, Nye Thomas and Tristan Woodman have been called into the England U20s squad ahead of the Under-20 Six Nations next month.
Scrum-half Nye and centre Rekeiti, who joined Sale from Wasps in November, have both been named in the 32-man Elite Player Squad for the full 2023 campaign.
Flanker Tristan will join head coach Alan Dickens’ squad for the Six Nations, which kicks off on February 3, as an injury replacement.
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.”
