FORMER Worcester Warriors Academy products Fin Smith, Ted Hill and Ollie Lawrence hve been named in the latest England training squad for the upcoming 2023 Rugby World Cup later this year.
Smith has been added to the group by head coach Steve Borthwick after being involved in the Gallagher Premiership semi-finals with Northampton Saints. He joins fellow Worcester boys Hill and Lawrence for the upcoming training week in Brighton.
The 21-year-old fly-half has had a stellar season with Saints following his move away from Sixways last year. He helped them to a top-four finish and ended the 2022/23 campaign with 144 points in total.
Smith was part of a reported battle between England and Scotland last year due to his Scottish grandfather, but Smith played for England at U20 level and this will be the second time in camp with the senior England set-up, having been involved in other training camps.
The Warriors Academy product joins old teammates at Worcester in the camp; former captain Hill and centre Lawrence, who is dealing with a slight injury picked up last week in the first training week of the summer.
"After an excellent first week’s training, we are very much looking forward to being in Brighton," said Borthwick.
"We’re pleased to welcome players from Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers who can now start to integrate themselves into the group, and we look forward to players from Sale Sharks and Saracens joining us in a fortnight.
"The first phase of our preparation continues to focus on ensuring the players are physically equipped for what we need to do in a World Cup campaign. That means the training will be tough and purposeful. The players are rising to the challenge.
"We’ll work hard again this week, and we’ll enjoy some time together off the field too – which is also an important part of our preparation."
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