It’s not just BSR alumni who are making a splash on the international scene, twelve current BUCS Super Rugby stars are set to start in the U20 Six Nations this weekend.
For England, four players from three universities are in the squad to face Scotland, with three of them in the starting XV. In the forwards, Durham’s Mark Dormer starts at prop, while Loughborough’s Alex Wardell starts at blind side flanker. Running the show at the breakdown will be Bath’s Tom Carr-Smith, with his university teammate Jasper Spandler named on the bench.
In the Welsh squad to face Ireland are five players, three of them from rugby powerhouse Cardiff Met, who Eddie Jones described as a ‘popular breeding ground for test rugby players’ when he named his senior England squad.
Joe Cowell will start the match after impressing for Cardiff Met in BSR and for Cardiff in the European Challenge Cup. The four hoping to make an impact from the bench are; Rhys Barratt (Cardiff Met), Benji Williams (Swansea), Thompson Cowan (Loughborough) and Morgan Lloyd (Cardiff Met).
Flying the flag for Scotland, we have Durham’s Tom Banatvala and Exeter’s Ollie Leatherbarrow going from BSR rivals to international teammates in the Scottish pack. The ninth and final player is Jake Spurway, a star second row for the current league leaders Durham. He begins on the bench, hoping for his first taste of action on the international stage.
It’s fantastic to see the strength and depth of young talent progressing through the BSR pathway, and we wish all nine players the best of luck in the opening fixtures of the U20 Six Nations Championship.
