Four Bath Rugby players are set to turn out for their country at The Rec on Saturday 8th November.
The Rec in Bath will host international rugby on Saturday 8th November as England A take on the All Blacks XV. Four Bath men are in the home nation’s squad | Photo © Richard Briggs
The iconic stadium will host the England A v All Blacks XV match – and the Blue, Black & White are well represented in the home nation’s 30-man squad.
Back row and Bath’s PREM Rugby Cup XV captain Ewan Richards, prop Vilikesa Sela, hooker Kepueli Tuipulotu and centre Max Ojomoh are in the party selected ahead of the clash that will kick-off at 1.15pm.
Bristol Bears’ second row Joe Batley will skipper England A, the squad having assembled at the University of Bath today (Monday 3rd November) to begin preparations for the fixture.
Ojomoh is one of seven previously capped senior players involved in Mark Mapletoft’s set-up. Charlie Atkinson, Jamie Blamire, Ollie Hassell-Collins, Tom Pearson, Ethan Roots and Adam Radwan are the others.
And Ojomoh, Atkinson, Blamire, Hassell-Collins and Pearson are five of 13 squad members with past England A matchday experience.
Some 24 of the 30 players called up have progressed from the England Men’s Player Pathway with caps for age-grade representative sides. These include current U20 Elite Player Squad member Noah Caluori and 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship winners Sela, Afolabi Fasogbon, Angus Hall, Sean Kerr, Nathan Michelow and Olamide Sodeke.
The selection of the wider squad and matchday XXIII is a co-operative approach made in consultation with head coach Mapletoft and determined by senior men’s head coach Steve Borthwick and RFU executive director of performance rugby Conor O’Shea.
Mapletoft will be supported by James Lightfoot Brown (attack coach), Adam Powell (defence coach), James Craig (forwards coach) and Matt Ferguson (scrum coach) in his coaching staff.
The coaching group will work alongside key pathway and PREM Rugby strength and conditioning, medical and operational staff for the game.
Mapletoft said: “We’ve assembled a dynamic young group of players aiming to excel whilst wearing the rose. I’d like to congratulate all selected players and staff involved.
“Ten players that represented the England A side last season progressed to make their senior debuts. These fixtures matter for the future of English rugby.
“As evidenced in this week’s squad announcements, our connection from the age-grade and senior set-up is stronger than ever and we’re determined to continue that work over the forthcoming weeks.”
England squad (includes current club, community club and senior caps):
Forwards: Ben Bamber (Sale Sharks, Langworthy Reds ARL, uncapped), Joe Batley (Bristol Bears, Gosport & Fareham, uncapped), Jamie Blamire (Leicester Tigers, Workington, 7 caps), Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester Rugby, Saracens Amateur, uncapped), Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs, Devonport Services, uncapped), Tarek Haffar (Leicester Tigers, Grasshoppers, uncapped), Fitz Harding (Bristol Bears, Beaconsfield, uncapped), Emmanuel Iyogun (Northampton Saints, Southend, uncapped), Nathan Jibulu (Sale Sharks, Old Wimbledonian Warriors, uncapped), Ciaran Knight (Gloucester Rugby, Matson, uncapped), Nathan Michelow (Saracens, Brentwood, uncapped), Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints, Bromyard, 1 cap), Ewan Richards (Bath, Wells, uncapped), Ethan Roots (Exeter Chiefs, East Coast Bays, 4 caps), Vilikesa Sela (Bath, Royal Wootton Bassett, uncapped), Olamide Sodeke (Saracens, Blackheath, uncapped), Kepueli Tuipulotu (Bath, Cwmbran, uncapped).
Backs: Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, Oxford, 1 cap), Jamie Benson (Harlequins, uncapped), Noah Caluori (Saracens, Blackheath, uncapped), Tobias Elliott (Saracens, Harrow, uncapped), Caolan Englefield (Gloucester Rugby, Old Rutlishians, uncapped), Angus Hall (Saracens, Sevenoaks, uncapped), Ollie Hassell-Collins (Leicester Tigers, Newbury, 2 caps), Josh Hodge (Exeter Chiefs, Vale of Lune, uncapped), Sean Kerr (Harlequins, Sutton & Epsom, uncapped), Rekeiti Ma’asi-White (Sale Sharks, Ampthill, uncapped), Archie McParland (Northampton Saints, Ruthin, uncapped), Max Ojomoh (Bath, Chippenham, 1 cap), Adam Radwan (Leicester Tigers, Billingham, 2 caps).
The match will be the first between the two countries’ high-performance pathway teams. However, England A previously faced the All Blacks XV when they were known as New Zealand A.
The All Blacks XV managed an unbeaten 2024 Northern Hemisphere tour and are a key part of New Zealand’s high-performance rugby pathway – a team designed to develop and showcase the next tier of Test-ready talent.
On Saturday 1st November, the All Blacks XV recovered from a 19-0 interval deficit to beat the Barbarians 33-19 at the Gtech Community Stadium, home of Brentford FC, in London.
Caleb Tangitau (2), Xavier Roe and capped duo Kyle Preston and David Havili scored the All Blacks XV’s tries. Josh Jacomb kicked four conversions.
The Barbarians were coached by Bristol’s director of rugby Pat Lam.
This weekend’s match at The Rec is set to be a sell-out. The final few tickets are available to purchase here.
England A will follow up the clash with the All Blacks XV by taking on Spain at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla, Valladolid, on Saturday 15th November.
Meanwhile, the date of Bath’s Gallagher PREM Round 10 match against Gloucester Rugby at Kingsholm Stadium has been confirmed.
The big derby battle will take place on Friday 23rd January (7.45pm).
