Gloucester Rugby have produced four talented young players that have been selected for England’s U20 Six Nations Squad, for the tournament that will begin on the third of February.
The Cherry and White selection is particularly forward heavy as full-back Josh Hathaway is the only back amongst the four. Despite this being Hathaway’s first stint for England, it is not his first experience in the u20’s Six Nations as last year he was part of the Wales u20s squad. However, Wales finished fifth last year with only one win against Scotland so Hathaway will hope for a more successful tournament this time round
Embed from Getty ImagesHathaway joined the senior academy at Gloucester in November 2022 after leaving Welsh team, Scarlets. The youngster was born in Wales and initially played for Aberystwyth RFC before moving on to Ceredigion schools U15s which then created the pathway for his time at Scarlets.
Hathaway made his debut for the Cherry and Whites during this seasons Premiership cup, west country derby against Bristol Bears. Hathaway put out an outstanding performance during this game, post-match Gloucester’s defence coach Dan Waldouck said, “I think he looked very comfortable out the back, looked assured, looked dangerous when he was on the ball so yeah it’s great to see him in a Gloucester shirt”.
𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝟐𝟎𝐬 🏴
— Gloucester Rugby (@gloucesterrugby) January 9, 2023
🌹 Archie McArthur
🌹 Finn Theobald-Thomas
🌹 Danny Eite
🌹 Josh Hathaway
Four Cherry & Whites named in England's 32-man 2023 squad.
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Out of the forwards who have been selected, prop, Archie McArthur and hooker, Finn Theobald-Thomas have both previously been a part of the England u20s squad, with McArthur making his International debut for England u18s. McArthur played for Wasps’ Academy before moving to Gloucester where he made his debut for the united side against the UK Armed Forces at Kingsholm.
Theobald-Thomas is one of three who moved to Gloucester following the collapse of Worcester Warriors. Theobald-Thomas made his England under-20s debut last year as a replacement against Italy, he then started his next game against Wales and went on to score his first England try from the back of a driving lineout. It is hoped he will get on well at Gloucester and secure his place there after having two, one-time appearances for both Coventry and Nottingham in his 21/22 season.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe last of the four is Danny Eite, a fresh face at Gloucester having joined this season after playing for Hartpury college. Eite made his debut alongside Josh Hathaway for the clash against Bristol Bears in November. Coach Waldouck gave positive feedback about the performance of the youngsters after their debuts, which looks promising for a strong Gloucester contribution to England’s Six Nations; “overall I’m very pleased, we delivered our processes excellently in the first half, it was good to see the guys getting an opportunity and taking it, we delivered a Gloucester rugby performance.”
Alan Dickens’ squad will first meet on Wednesday before playing a warm-up match against Oxford University on the 14th and Loughborough University on the 21st. It seems Gloucester will definitely have something exciting to watch over the next few months in the hope that the local youngsters make Kingsholm proud. England’s first game will be on the third, at home against Scotland where they will wish to do a repeat of last year and kick off the tournament with a win.
