England U20 got their tournament up and running with a comprehensive victory over Japan this week in the World Rugby U20 Championship and the talent on display for the red rose will excite many an English rugby fan. If England want to compete on the world stage then the grass roots needs to be of the highest quality, no one would argue that it isn’t.
It has been this way for some time and was previously masterminded by Nick Walshe who has guided the team to the Championship consecutively over the past two seasons. Walshe has now moved on to pastures new with Gloucester. Now the new man Jon Callard has big shoes to fill and was described as the “outstanding candidate” by the RFU having been involved with the organisation for some time.
Callard was appointed in August last year and guided the team to the Six Nations title in March, doing the teams favourites (or one of) tag in this tournament no harm.
Callard stipulates that the results do not matter, it is in fact exposing these players to the environment and the processes which is the key; winning is just a bonus. This approach seems to be resonating with the players as the preparation they are given stands them in good stead in training and on the pitch. Furthermore when they play, they are free to show their skills and get the result for the team. Instilling such processes can only be positive for the development of the player when potentially progressing through the ranks.
This is further proven with the development of many a player that used to play in the team, now being a fixture for their club in the Aviva Premiership. Such players are: Henry Slade, Maro Itoje, Jack Clifford and Jack Nowell to name a few. A few of those mentioned were also part of the young England team who comprehensively beat the Barbarians at the Weekend.
England take on Wales this weekend in the crunch match of the pool as Wales were the only team to beat them in the Six Nations in March. Captain Charlie Ewels is also calling for an “80 minute performance” which he doesn’t feel his team have given yet. This game is set to be a cracker, don’t miss it.
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