Six Northampton Saints players have been selected in the England U18 squad to take on Ireland this weekend.
Fullback James Pater, winger Charlie Tamani and flanker Jack Lewis all start Saturday’s fixture at Mardyke Sports Grounds, while Archie Appleby, Hugh Shields and Henry Lumley await their turn to impress as replacements.
The fixture in Cork (kick-off: 5.30pm) will serve as preparation ahead of the upcoming U18 Six Nations Festival, and is also the 50th anniversary of the first meeting between the nations at schoolboy level.
Head coach Jonathan Pendlebury’s side have trained at the Hazelwood Centre, Sunbury this week before travelling to Saturday’s test, the first meeting of the team since the 2025 U18 Six Nations Festival squad was named.
England U18 Men face Scotland, Spain and France this April in the 2025 U18 Men’s Six Nations Festival hosted at Stade Municipal Louis Darragon in Vichy, France.
Pendlebury said: “The game against Ireland is a welcome opening for our group to measure progression in their development with a busy month ahead. Our key pillars of exploration and adaptation will be crucial to help them prepare for the Six Nations in a testing environment.
“This weekend is our first fixture since the summer with a largely refreshed group, which gives us the opportunity to bring players’ respective individual development plans to life in a competitive scenario.
“The squad have worked ardently to support our framework of always keeping the ball moving and working to space with speed across U17 and U18 programmes this year. We look forward to seeing the players putting their efforts on show in Cork this Saturday.”
England U18 Men’s team to face Ireland
15 James Pater (Northampton Saints, Shelford RFC, The Leys School)
14 Junior Denny (Gloucester Rugby, Banbury Rugby Club, Bloxham School)
13 Will Knight (Gloucester Rugby, Longlevens RFC, Hartpury College)
12 Declan Treacey (Bath Rugby, New Milton RFC, Beechen Cliff School)
11 Charlie Tamani (Northampton Saints, Bury St. Edmunds, Finborough School)
10 Oscar Talbot (Leicester Tigers, Barkers Butts RFC, Rugby School)
9 Isaac Mears (Bath Rugby, Bath Rugby, Beechen Cliff School)
1 Alan Poku (Saracens, Ealing Trailfinders, Bishop Wand School)
2 Kealan Freeman-Price (Gloucester Rugby, Drybrook RFC, Hartpury College)
3 Sam Bland (Yorkshire Academy, Wharfdale, Bishop Burton College)
4 Freddie Ogden-Metherell (Gloucester Rugby, Lydney RFC, Dean Close School)
5 Henry Laidlow (Harlequins, Twickenham RFC, Trinity School)
6 Elliot Williams (Harlequins, Gordon’s School) *
7 Jack Lewis (Northampton Saints, Ashby RFC, Northampton School for Boys)
8 George Marsh (Leicester Tigers, Holt RFC, Denstone College)
Replacements
16 Jerold Gorleku (Harlequins, Twickenham RFC, Bishop Wand School)
17 Oliver Spencer (Yorkshire Academy, Harrogate RUFC, Grammar School at Leeds)
18 Harry Wright (Gloucester Rugby, Alcester, Stourport High School & Sixth Form College)
19 Archie Appleby (Northampton Saints, Hadleigh RUFC, Sedbergh School)
20 Tate Williams (Harlequins, East Grinstead RFC, Worth School)
21 James Townsend (Leicester Tigers, Harbury Rugby Football Club, Warwick School)
22 Hugh Shields (Northampton Saints, Old Northamptonians, Northampton School for Boys)
23 Victor Worsnip (Bristol Bears, Bank of England RFC, Clifton College) *
24 Henry Lumley (Northampton Saints, Bury St. Edmunds, Finborough School)
*denotes a player previously capped at U18 level for England
England U18 Men’s 2025 U18 Six Nations Festival fixtures
Each team will play 1 x 70-minute match on each match day, with four matches taking place each day at Stade Municipal Louis Darragon (MD1 – Thursday 10 April, MD2 – Monday 14 April & MD3 Friday 18 April).
- Matchday 1 (Thursday, 10 April) - KO 12:15 BST – England vs. Scotland
- Matchday 2 (Monday, 14 April) - KO 10:00 BST – Spain vs. England
- Matchday 3 (Friday, 18 April) - KO 17:30 BST – France vs. England
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