Henry Pollock Among Selections for England A Squad to Face Australia A

Flanker Henry Pollock, who previously captained England Under-18s and is a product of the Northampton Saints academy, has been named in the England A squad. He is joined by props Afolabi Fasogbon and Vilikesa Sela for the upcoming match against Australia A. This young trio was part of the England Under-20 team that secured a World Cup victory earlier this year. Nineteen-year-old Pollock, who plays for Northampton Saints, is also capable of playing as a number eight. Meanwhile, Fasogbon, aged 20, represents Gloucester, and Sela, 19, plays for Bath. Senior international players Tom Willis, Joe Heyes, Ted Hill, Curtis Langdon, Tom Pearson, Tom Roebuck, and Fraser Dingwall, who will lead the squad as captain, have also been included. England A is scheduled to host Australia A at Twickenham Stoop on Sunday, November 17. Additionally, a fixture against Ireland A at Bristol’s Ashton Gate has been confirmed for February. Mark Mapletoft, England A head coach, who guided Pollock, Fasogbon, and Sela to age-grade global success in the summer, commented on their selection: “If we didn’t feel they were worth looking at, they wouldn’t be looked at. This has been a collaborative process with the seniors because that is ultimately where we are trying to earmark these players for. There have been some super-positive conversations with Steve and the senior staff around if this is the right time for them. And it should be difficult shouldn’t it? It should be a stretch for those lads. We don’t want to overstretch them but we don’t want them in their comfort zone too much either. It will be great experience.” The forwards selected for the squad are: Joe Batley (Bristol Bears), Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester), Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Ted Hill (Bath), Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints), Nathan Jibulu (Harlequins), Curtis Langdon (Northampton Saints), Gabriel Oghre (Bristol Bears), Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints), Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints), Vilikesa Sela (Bath), Tom Willis (Saracens). The backs included in the squad are: Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester), Oscar Beard (Harlequins), Joe Carpenter (Sale Sharks), Fraser Dingwall (captain, Northampton Saints), Gabriel Ibitoye (Bristol Bears), Archie McParland (Northampton Saints), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Max Ojomoh (Bath), Will Porter (Harlequins), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), Jamie Shillcock (Leicester Tigers).