England have a “generational” crop of young talent that has more potential than the squad which reached the 2019 World Cup final under Eddie Jones, says Rugby Football Union director of performance Conor O’Shea.
In July, England won World Rugby’s Under-20 Championship for the first time since 2016, to add to the team’s Six Nations triumph in March.
O’Shea is excited by the “very special” talent not only in the under-20s set-up, but also the players already in the England senior squad aged 25 or under.
“I believe that the group of players that are coming together – I am not just talking about last year’s under-20s, you’re talking from Ollie Chessum (24), George Martin (23), Tommy Freeman (23) down – that age group is really, really special,” O’Shea told BBC Sport. “It is generational.
“You also have to consider the age profile of the likes of Marcus Smith (25) and Ben Earl (26). When you marry all that together and put experience and years into them, there is a very, very special group.
“It is really exciting not just from a pathway point of view but from an England and club point of view. These aren’t just normal players, these are special players.”
In 2011, Elliot Daly, Owen Farrell, George Ford and Mako Vunipola all started in England’s under-20 team that lost to the Baby Blacks of New Zealand in the Junior World Championship final.
They all went on to play a key role in England reaching the 2019 World Cup final under Jones.
Four years later, Steve Borthwick’s side narrowly missed out on another World Cup final, with a large portion of that age group again contributing.
“The time that Farrell and Ford were coming through I was in the system,” said O’Shea, who was director of rugby at Harlequins from 2010-2016.
“I would say I am more excited about this cohort and what they can achieve. They have unbelievable potential if they are in the right system.”
Former Ireland full-back O’Shea, who is in overall charge of the development of young players, joined the RFU in 2020 following a three-year spell in charge of Italy’s national team.
In December 2023, O’Shea said England’s rugby structure had “failed miserably” to give young talent an opportunity.
He says the way Premiership clubs and the national team are now aligned through the new eight-year Professional Game Partnership (PGP), which was set up in September after 18 months of collaboration, will bring improvements.
Another change has been picking players a year young at England Under-18 level for their summer tour of South Africa, giving players more time in the set-up before stepping up to the under-20s.
Borthwick and his senior coaching staff have also become more involved, with 2003 World Cup winner Richard Hill influential in the promotion of flanker Chandler Cunningham-South to the senior team.
“We [Borthwick and I] talk more than regularly. I would say four or five times a week, if not more,” O’Shea added.
“I would swap texts with Steve through matches, we will have pathway meetings that Steve will start coming to.
“The dialogue is getting stronger every week.”
Uncapped duo Afolabi Fasogbon and Henry Pollock will hope to be involved in England A’s fixture against Australia A on Sunday [Getty Images]
England A provides ‘great progression’
England A will host Australia A at Twickenham Stoop on Sunday, a game which follows February’s 91-5 victory over Portugal that marked the return of A fixtures after eight years.
Another fixture will follow in February against Ireland A at Bristol’s Ashton Gate as the RFU aims to get back to more regular fixtures to help help bridge the gap between Premiership and Test rugby.
After his success with England Under-20s Mark Mapletoft has been named head coach for Sunday’s fixture and is joined by forwards coach Andy Titterrell, who was also involved with the summer’s World Championship-winning side.
The A squad contains a mixture of under-20 winners including Northampton Saints flanker Henry Pollock and Gloucester prop Afolabi Fasogbon, but also senior internationals such as Tom Willis, Joe Heyes, Curtis Langdon, Tom Pearson and Fraser Dingwall.
“I think it is a great progression and keeps the alignment in-between the pathway and the seniors,” Titterrell said.
“It is showing the importance and hard work going on behind the scenes to give those boys the exposure so they can see what that next level feels like.”
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